YuGiOh! SP
by Aarikku
Summary: Steampunk? In my Yu-Gi-Oh? It's more likely than you think. Ray Ashford and Lilith Huron, two people with completely different personalities and world views, are brought into the world of tag duels. You've never seen Yu-Gi-Oh! like this.
1. Flight 1: Call to Adventure

**Flight 1: Call to Adventure**

It was a time before Jaden. A time before Yugi. A time that doesn't fit in to Yu-Gi-Oh! canon very well, so it's best not to think about it so hard. In the late 1800s, the brilliant minds of Jules Tesla and Nikola Verne invented the Duelling Unique Electric Light-Directing Integrated Sporting Contraption (abbreviation D.U.E.L.D.I.S.C., which would later be colloquialized to simply Duel Disc). No one but the two great minds had any idea how it worked, but with its influence, a trading card game formerly only played by children became popular amongst the Victorian aristocrats. The trading cards themselves were seen as a status symbol, and many sought the rarest cards to show off to their peers...

"But myself?" an old man said, as a boy young enough to be his grandson eagerly looked over a copy of **Lorelei, the Symphonic Arsenal**. "Well, it's just a hobby for me." The two were sitting at a coffee table in the old man's mansion's parlour.

The boy chuckled, putting Lorelei back in a binder. "It's quite a hobby, Mr. Nobel was it? I bet all my tournament winnings combined couldn't buy your collection."

"No," Mr. Nobel said, shrugging, "But it comes close, which impressed me. That's why I wanted to hire you for this job. And please, call me Julian."

"I'll need to hear more about the job, Julian."

"Well, once Lilith arrives, I'll tell you both... she was supposed to arrive at 7..." Julian checked his pocket-watch. Before it could tick, there was a knock at the door. A butler appeared and opened the door to the parlour; a young woman behind him.

"The lady Lilith Huron," The butler introduced, before leaving to attend to some other duty. The boy sized up Lilith. She looked about a head shorter than himself. She had an extremely long ponytail of black hair. A bored expression in her grey eyes. She wore a dark dress and corset with shoulder-length gloves that didn't cover her fingers, along with the sort of giant, pointy boots that Ray could never believe women would happily wear. He was happy, at least, to see she had a shiny brass Duel Disc on her arm and a deck box clipped to her belt, just as he did.

Unbeknownst to him, Lilith took the opportunity to size him up as well. He had a head of red hair reminiscent of a crown and a pair of also red goggles on his head (which Lilith suspected he'd never actually worn). A dorky grin. Very plain clothing; just a jacket with the sleeves ripped off, orange shirt and light grey trousers. Not at all like the fancy suit, monocle and top hat that their host was wearing. Lilith observed Julian as well; his face looked ancient, but he stood tall and strong, towering over both of them. He had a grey moustache that made him look vaguely like a walrus; that was the only hair on his head.  
>"Nice to meet you," She said, but nothing in her voice gave the impression that it was actually nice to meet either of them.<p>

"My name's Ray Ashford!" The boy hopped over to her and shook her hand, as if it was his duty to cause some sort of excitement. "I'm - "

"The winner of the recent Ireland Nationals?" Lilith interrupted. "Not bad."

"Actually, yeah, that's what I was gonna say," Ray grinned. "Nice to meet you too."

"Miss Huron is one of the best players in Great Britain," Julian said.

"Thanks for the compliment," Lilith said. "But could you please explain the job you want us to do?"

"Us?" Ray repeated. "We're working together?"

"I'm sure I said that already," Julian said, stroking his moustache. "But I suppose I should start from the beginning considering your short-term memory, or apparent lack thereof." He cleared his throat. "There are five extremely rare cards I wish to add to my collection. They're called Eldricytes. Like most of my collection, they're more or less useless for play, but each is one of a kind and worth a fortune."

"So why do you need two of us?" Lilith asked.

"Why do you need anyone at all? Can't you just trade for them?" Ray asked.

"The cards are scattered among the Greek islands," Julian explained. "There, duels are generally performed in pairs. As for why I've hired duellists, well, I don't want to part with any of my collection. We will instead be betting cards from my collection against the Eldricyte cards. I'm counting on the skills of the two of you to keep my collection intact."

"Greek islands, tag-team, betting... got it," Ray confirmed.

"How are we getting to the Greek islands?" Lilith asked.

"That's the best part!" The old man said ecstatically. Lilith rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm, but nonetheless followed Julian and Ray to the back of his manor. As they stepped into a back courtyard, one obvious sight caught her and Ray's full attention.

"Whoa!" Ray cried. He ran towards the thing. "We're going to be travelling in this?"

"This..." Lilith tried to regain her composure, but it was indeed an awe-inspiring sight. Ray and Lilith had both seen airships before, but for this man to actually have one in his backyard was absurd. Lilith tried to hide her surprise at how she hadn't noticed it earlier when she got there. _How did he hide this? Wait..._ She glanced at the ground. _All the grass is fake. There must be a giant hangar underneath the manor._

"This is the _Eternal Eclipse_," Julian said proudly. "It's only 8 tons, but it's plenty big for our purposes. It originally had a crew of 10. Its weak point is its fuel capacity – it can only fly for 72 hours at a time. But it's fast; its maximum speed is 100 kilometres an hour."

"Are the three of us really enough?" Lilith asked.

"Don't worry about that," Julian said, shrugging. "Everything's automated now. Shall I give you a tour?"

"Yes!" Ray cried eagerly.

"Mr. Julian..." Lilith rubbed her forehead. "As impressive as the airship is, I don't understand how you expect the two of us to tag-duel when we've never even met before."

-

That was yesterday. Lilith lay on her bed, trying to remember exactly how Julian had replied. Something about Ray being her direct opposite and the two of them being able to release each other's hidden potential. _Or some crap like that,_ she thought, sighing. _I don't even remember why I ended up agreeing._ She stood up and looked out the window. Seeing the morning's clouds race by and the tiny landscape of what was probably France below, Lilith thought perhaps she hadn't been so crazy yesterday.

Lilith found Ray and Julian, just as yesterday, looking over some cards on a table. "Ah, there you are," Julian said. "We were worried you'd stay in your room until we reached Greece."

"Sorry about that," Lilith replied. "I just..."

"We need to duel!" Ray cried, standing up and sticking his index finger in her face. Lilith swatted away Ray's hand. "I need to know if you're worth tag-teaming with."

"What?" Lilith demanded, her head tilting to one side.

"I told you she was one of Britain's best," Julian said. "I'm sure she'll – "

"He's right. We have to duel," Lilith cut him off. "I find it hard to believe this annoying kid's the best in Ireland."

"Kid? We're the same age!"

"It's about maturity, not age," Lilith protested.

Julian sighed. "Is a coin toss all right for first turn?" They both nodded. "All right." He took a coin from his pocket and flipped it. "Someone call it quickly!"

"Tails!" Ray cried. It was. "All right, Lilith! Let's see you handle this." He drew. "I summon **Solanimus Blazing-Mane Lion**!" The card's name didn't leave much to the imagination; a large lion with a mane of fire appeared and roared (4*, 1700 ATK). "With this, all other Solanimus monsters gain 500 ATK. I'll set a card and that's it for me."

_Solanimus?_ Lilith wondered. _Hmph. Works for me._ "I'll set a monster." The hologram of a card back appeared, but promptly burst into flames.

"Then I'll activate **Solanimus Wild Explosion**! When you Normal Summon or Set, and I control a Solanimus monster, I can reveal a Solanimus to destroy that card." He held up a card depicting what looked like a red snake.

"Just as I thought," Lilith smiled slightly. Within the explosion was a black fairy with wings made of water. "You destroyed my **Sacred Sprite of Lunanima**. This lets me Special Summon two more from my deck. They'll both be in Defence Mode." (4*, DEF: 1700) "I'll set one card as well."

"Hang on! Wild Explosion's other effect - I can Special Summon the revealed monster. **Solanimus Burning Snake**!" A serpent with lava-like skin appeared onto the field; hissing with a tongue made of fire. "Remember, of course, my Lion's effect." (4*, 1800 - 2300 ATK) "And now for my turn!" Ray said eagerly. "I'll summon **Solanimus Blinding Blade**!" (4*, 1700 - 2200 ATK) There appeared a creature that finally wasn't on fire - a knight in white-and-gold armour. "Now I can reduce the ATK and DEF of a monster you control by the ATK of a FIRE monster I control. Burning Snake has 2300 ATK, so let's reduce one of your Sprites to 0."

"To what end?" Lilith asked.

"Burning Snake gives all Solanimus monsters Piercing!" Ray explained proudly. "Burning Snake attacks the Sprite that still has ATK and DEF." The snake launched itself like a spring at the shadowy fairy, but it slammed into a wall of light.

"**Moonlight Veil**," Lilith announced. "If I control a Lunanima monster, monsters I control can't be destroyed this turn - "

"But you still take Battle Damage!"

"No, I don't."

"Dammit. Go." Ray crossed his arms angrily. "How do you expect to win when you're just hiding?"

"It's called strategy," Lilith's eyes narrowed. "How do you expect to win when you just throw monsters at your opponent senselessly? But I'll show you my ace card – the Field Spell **Lunar Impact**." Despite it being day outside, the ceiling became an endless night sky with an extremely prominent full moon. "If this card has 7 Moon Counters, I win the duel."  
>"What's a Moon Counter?"<p>

"I'll show you. I summon **Stargazer of Lunanima** (4*, ATK: 800)." Stargazer looked little more than a woman in black holding a telescope. "Next, I overlay Stargazer and my two Sacred Sprites. Goddess of night, cast the world into eternal shadow! Xyz Summon; **Gravity Queen of Lunanima**!" A woman in dark, royal attire towered over both duellists and Ray's monsters. (3 OLU, DEF: 3000). "By detaching 1 Xyz-Material monster, I add one Moon Counter to Lunar Impact. The woman raised her scepter into the air and the moon lurched closer. (2 OLU, 1 Moon Counter) "I'll set one card. Now it's your turn."

"Like hell I'll let you use that effect six more times!" Ray taunted. "Blinding Blade; reduce Gravity Queen's DEF!" He pointed at his monster, who immediately became wrapped in chains.

"**Fiendish Chain**," Lilith announced. "Good luck without Blinding Blade's effect."

"Dammit," Ray cursed, checking the cards in his hand. "I'll activate **Solanimus Fireburst**, then. It inflicts damage to you equal to the ATK of a Solanimus monster I control. My snake has 2300." A giant wave of fire erupted from the snake's jaws, bypassing Lilith's field completely and wreathing the girl in flames. (Lilith: 5700)

_He was able to damage me..._ Lilith thought. _But what a cheap trick._

_I haven't killed her yet..._ Ray considered. _Damn that _**Fiendish Chain**_._

"My move," Lilith said. _Fiendish Chain won't last long, I'm sure._ "First, I remove another Overlay Unit to add another Moon Counter to Lunar Impact." True to her words, Ray watched the moon grow ever closer. (1 OLU, 2 Moon Counters) "Next, I'll play **One for One**. By discarding **Wilting Lotus of Lunanima**, I'll Special Summon **Wilting Lotus of Lunanima** from my deck." (DEF: 0)

"0 DEF? And you spent two cards on it?" Ray asked.

_He didn't even notice that it was the same card I discarded?_ Lilith asked herself. "Once per duel, by banishing a Lunanima monster in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon **Wilting Lotus of Lunanima** from my Graveyard." A hologram of Stargazer appeared and crumpled. The aptly-named wilting lotus was joined with another. (DEF: 0). "While Wilting Lotus exists on my field, you can't attack other monsters."

"Then I'll just destroy them first!" Ray said. "Thanks for the Piercing targets! Ooh, and it's time to show you my ace. I summon the Tuner, **Solanimus Shining Star**!" (4*, 1500 - 2000 ATK) A humanoid figure as bright as a sun appeared, but didn't last long before it transformed into green rings. "I tune Solanimus Shining Star with Solanimus Blinding Blade!" The knight shattered its chains and leapt into the sky. "Master of destruction, burn down everything in your path. Synchro Summon! **Solanimus Raging Dragon**!" An enormous beast appeared in a burst of flame; an orange-gold Chinese dragon with fire running down its back. (8*, 3000 - 3500 ATK) "That's not all. When Shining Star tunes with a Solanimus monster, for a Solanimus monster, I can bring back one of the non-Tuners. Reappear, **Solanimus Blinding Blade**!" The knight reappeared and took its stance. (4*, 1700 - 2200 ATK) "Normally, I'd remind you about Snake's Piercing, but Raging Dragon switches all monsters to Attack Position anyway and keeps them there permanently. You can't hide behind that DEF of yours any more!"

"What are you doing?" Lilith demanded. "I already told you Wilting Lotus prevents you from attacking other monsters."

"And I told you - "

"That includes each other." Lilith explained dully.

"Cheap move. Go."

_What's not cheap about his level of swarm power?_ Lilith thought bitterly. "Here's the next stage of my plan. I summon **Seadancer of Lunanima**!" A mermaid with a tail made of water appeared. (ATK: 100) "Now, once per turn, I can attach a Lunanima monster in my Graveyard to an Xyz monster I control."

"Wait, but then..."

"You thought I'd just add the three Counters and call it quits? You idiot. I attach **Sacred Sprite of Lunanima** to Gravity Queen – and then detach it to add another Counter." (1 OLU, 3 Moon Counters) "Just in case you were curious, you can't attack Seadancer either. I'll set one card; your turn."

_Dammit. Is she really going to get all seven counters?_ Ray asked himself. "I won't let that happen!" He glanced at his draw nervously, then smiled. "**Solanimus Erupting Rage**! If I control three or more Solanimus monsters, it destroys all monsters you control."

"**Moonlight Veil**," Lilith said lazily, as another wall of light halted the rush of Ray's army. Ray ended his turn. "Me? I'll just repeat my previous turn. Seadancer adds a Sprite to Gravity Queen, Gravity Queen converts it into a Moon Counter." The moon was bigger than Ray had ever even seen with a telescope. (1 OLU, 4 Moon Counters) "And I'll set a card. I'm sure it'll stop whatever you're planning."

"I don't even know what I'm planning yet!" Ray drew. "Apparently, I'm planning... **Heavy Storm**! Get that Lunar Impact out of here."

"I was right. **Dark Bribe**." Lilith said, as Ray drew another card.

"That... that's all for me." Ray said solemnly, looking at his hand of useless cards.

"This is almost funny," Lilith chuckled. _I'm running out of ways to stop him, but I can't let him know that. This guy... what's with his topdecks? Though I guess if the four cards in his hand right now are useless, it just makes up for that._ "I'll repeat my previous turn." The mermaid waved her arms, another light flew around Gravity Queen, extinguished itself and the moon grew closer once more. (5 Moon Counters) "And here's my set card."

_Dammit dammit dammit. Is that card going to stop me too?_ Ray drew. "I have to try. I'll play **Fissure**!" A gash appeared in the floor, carrying one of the Lotuses into the earth. "It worked?"

_Dammit!_ Lilith's eyes widened.

"Time for some extra muscle to celebrate. I'll Tribute Solanimus Blinding Blade for **Solanimus Fireraptor**!" The knight was replaced with an orange-skinned dinosaur with claws made of fire. (5*, 2200 - 2700 ATK)

_He... forgot Blinding Blade's effect._ Lilith realized. _Wait, he has enough ATK to kill me anyway! That Dragon's kept everything in Attack mode!_

"Lion attacks that damn Lotus!" Ray declared. The lion pounced upon the plant, tearing and burning it all at once. "That thing didn't have any ATK, did it?" (Lilith: 4000 LP) "You look worried. Seadancer has 100 ATK? Ha! Burning Snake, go!" The lava-reptile swallowed the mermaid whole. (Lilith: 1800 LP) "And let's pit boss card against boss card. 1000 ATK on that Gravity Queen? It's over! Go, Raging Dragon!"

"**Fiendish Chain**," Lilith declared; chains bound the dragon to the ground. _I was complaining about his luck, but this saved me._

"Fireraptor's close enough! You've... wait, you're not dead!" Ray calculated, as his 2700-ATK dinosaur tore apart Lilith's towering queen. (Lilith LP: 100) "Next turn, then."

"Like hell," Lilith began her turn. "I play **Monster Reborn**, reviving **Gravity Queen**! And since Raging Dragon is bound by Fiendish Chain, my Queen remains in Defence Mode. 3000 is more than anything you've got."

"But without Overlay Units, you're not getting any closer to winning yourself, are you?"

"That's why I was saving **Salvage** too. I'll snag **Seadancer of Lunanima** and... Sacred Sprite's WATER too, so her. Next, I'll summon Seadancer, and you know how this goes." The mermaid reappeared and quickly went to work shimmying her arms and adding the other Sacred Sprite to Gravity Queen, who then cast it away and brought the moon to its penultimate location. It now filled the entire sky. (Moon Counters: 6)

_I can just attack Seadancer!_ Ray realized.

"I'll set one card," Lilith said. _Now, Ray! Take the bait! This..._

_game..._ Ray put his hand on his deck.

_is..._ Lilith nervously tapped her fingers on her set card.

_mine!_ Ray began drawing his card, but was interrupted by the sound of an alarm. "Whoa, what's that?"

"Fuel's low," Julian said. "We're landing. Stop duelling and sit down."

"Can this wait like two seconds?" Ray asked.

"Now." Julian said. The airship immediately began its descent; Ray and Lilith fell off their feet and the holograms disappeared.

"Dammit, I had that!" Ray cried, struggling to a chair.

"You most certainly did not. My facedown - " Lilith began, but Julian raised his hand.

"It wouldn't have been a draw, but just accept that you're equally skilled. Or close enough to," Julian said. "Hopefully you can both admit that the other is worth partnering with."

Ray and Lilith looked at each other. "That Lunar Impact was pretty cool," Ray admitted.

"Your dragon's impressive too," Lilith said, shrugging. "I think if I back up your wild offence, you've got potential."

"More like, if I give you something worth protecting."

"Are you implying that my strategy didn't work?"

"Well, you only had six Counters, so..."

"I was one turn away from - "

"My draw was - "

"My facedown was - "

Julian sighed. _Maybe two duellists with the same ideals would've been easier to handle. But their tag-team will be worth the hassle. ...Probably. I guess the three of us will find out._


	2. Flight 2: As Different as Night and Day

**Flight 2: Different as Night and Day**_  
><em>  
>Steam erupted from vents on either side of some machine. Enormous gears spun and even more enormous doors opened, giving the approaching airship enough space to land. A small group of people secured the airship to the ground. Finally, a brass door on the side opened, a gangway folded out and three people stepped out: a young man, a young woman and an antique-looking man.<p>

"That was the coolest thing I've ever seen," Ray said gleefully.

"I don't get it," Lilith said. "It shouldn't have taken us all night to reach Paris. And what are we doing here if the Eldricytes are in Greece, anyway?"

"One second," Julian raised his hand, then briefly chatted with one of the workers. When he returned, Lilith was tapping her foot impatiently. "Sorry. There are two reasons why we're in Paris. Number one..." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "We didn't have enough fuel to make it to Greece." Lilith's face suddenly took on the least impressed expression anyone in the hangar had ever witnessed. "Number two, I received a telegram recently from one of my friends here in Paris who claimed to have seen an Eldricyte."

Ray glanced at Julian excitedly. "We're going to get an Eldricyte this early?"

"This wasn't supposed to be a long job," Julian replied. "But yes, I'm curious as well. I honestly didn't think the original owners would part with them so easily."

"But aren't we only getting them by betting? Who's to say the original owners haven't already lost them?" Lilith asked.

"Well, they were tournament prize cards. The players who own them are the best of the best. And the tournament was fairly recent..." Julian stroked his moustache. "Yes, this is much different than I expected."

"This is awesome!" Ray clenched his fist. "First day, first Eldricyte. Let's go!" He ran out of the hangar. Lilith and Julian calmly walked after him, meeting him right outside the hangar door. "It occurs to me that I don't know where we're going," Ray admitted.

"First, I'd like to talk to you about your decks." Julian pointed towards a card store. "Basically, I think Lilith, you should focus less on Lunar Impact, and you, Ray, should have some of your own protection cards so that you don't have to rely on Lilith to keep your monsters alive, and so you can protect hers."

"No offence, Julian, but we know what we're doing!" said Ray. "I didn't get through the Ireland Nationals by wasting cards on anything other than killing my opponent, and Lilith didn't get through whatever tournament she was in – "

"Britain Nationals," Lilith said.

"Yeah, that," Ray said. "In short, I'm going to keep my deck the way it is. Right, Lilith?"

"No," Lilith said. "That's stupid. I'm hoping you can end the game faster than Lunar Impact, as long as I keep us from dying. I'm going to go find some more Xyz monsters."

"But..." Ray stammered as Julian and Lilith entered the store. "Poor Gravity Queen." He sighed and followed. As Julian and Lilith looked through binders of cards, Ray watched a duel in the centre of the store. By the end of the game, after a dragon-riding alligator attacked over a series of humanoid reptiles, Julian and Lilith returned.

"I could never find these cards in London," Lilith said, showing off a black-bordered card. "**Ice Priestess of Lunanima** is one I've been looking for for a while."

"Ooh!" said Ray, as he grabbed the card and moved it back and forth to see the picture shine. "Only two materials... nice effect, too."

"I couldn't find enough cards to actually replace Lunar Impact, so I'll just be adding a couple cards for now," Lilith explained, snatching Ice Priestess back from Ray.

"Well, why don't we go get an Eldricyte?" Ray suggested.

"Indeed!" Julian said. With that, they began walking the streets of Paris. Ray's eyes darted around the city. Lilith and Julian dragged him away from watching a duel in a park.

"Come on!" Ray argued. "It's Guardian Sphinx versus Ojamas. That's such an awesome game!"

"We have things to do!" Lilith said. As they followed Julian around one more corner, a knee-high dog leapt towards them, barking playfully.

"Aww," Ray said, patting its head. "You feel weird, doggy."

"It looks weird, too," Lilith said, kneeling down to it. She ran her hand along its side. "What are these holes?" She got her answer as steam burst out of the holes. Lilith jumped to her feet as the dog ran back down the street. "What the hell...?"

"We must be getting close," Julian said. "That telegram of mine mentioned something about robot dogs."

Lilith shook her head and clenched her fist. "So people just make things that run around spewing burning steam at people?"

"It was so realistic. I thought it was awesome!" Ray exclaimed.

"I'm not surprised." Lilith muttered.

-

Finally, the trio approached a small building that Julian said was their destination. Julian approached the door. There was no knob; instead, a tall, vertical lever and a comically-huge keyhole. Julian cranked the lever. Lilith and Ray expected the door to open after he did so, but instead, a small hole opened in the wall beside the door. It spat out a small cube that fell to the ground with a _ting_. After a second or two, the box began sprouting more parts. It finally ended up as a short, cubic humanoid, somehow balanced on a single wheel for its leg. Its face was two lightbulbs for eyes and, where its mouth should be, a long glass tube holding an electric current.

"Automated Butler Unit ABU-020203 activated," It said in an eerily monotone voice, the electricity in its mouth moving like lips. "Please state your business."

"This is Otto and Fritz's Lab, right?" Julian asked, seemingly unfazed by the transforming robot.

"Affirmative," ABU replied. "Mr. Otto Hahn and Mr. Fritz Strassman are the owners of this laboratory."

"We'd like to see them, if possible." Julian said.

"Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman's current status..." ABU computed, leaned back on its wheel without falling over, somehow. "Available. Guest status accepted. Please follow me." The robot spun one of its arms until it became a giant key, fitting neatly in the ridiculous keyhole. The door folded into the wall.

"Are you coming?" Ray asked Lilith, who was hiding behind a tree.

"Is that thing going to shoot steam at me?" Lilith demanded.

"I didn't see any vents, but I promise nothing!" Julian called, entering the lab.

"How about you just ask Otto and Fritz to come out here?" Lilith pleaded. It was then that the tree she was hiding behind started glowing.

"Intruder alert!" said the tree, in an equally-monotone voice. "Beginning electric shocks in 3..." Without a further word, Lilith sprinted into the lab.

ABU led the guests down a spiral staircase, somehow hopping on each step with its one wheel. As they descended, a strange humming seemed to get louder and louder.

"I'm not a huge fan of this," Lilith said.

"I'm not surprised," said Ray. Lilith glared at him.

They finally approached another door. This one had no robot-producing lever; ABU simply knocked. "Guests have arrived," It said.

"Bring them in!" said a cheery, finally-human voice from the other side. ABU opened the door with a giant key produced from its other arm before folding itself back into a cube and disappearing into a hole in the wall.

"I wasn't expecting company," said a man, not looking up from something on a desk. His body blocked exactly what he was constructing, but it shot a spark periodically.

"My name is Julian Nobel," Julian said. "This is Ray Ashford and Lilith Huron. We'd like to talk to you about the Eldricyte you have."

"Eldricyte? Oh, the trading card. Yeah, gotcha." He spun his chair around to face them. He was wearing a pair of giant goggles that would've made identifying his face nearly impossible. He had messy, dark hair and some clothes that were either originally brown or had been stained by decades of dust. What caught Ray and Lilith's attention, however, was that he had no right leg; only a strange disk where his pant leg should've been. "Nice to meet you. I'm Otto." He noticed their concerned gazes, and then said, "Oh, right." He grabbed a brass limb off the table and stuck it into the disk, twisting it until it locked with a click. He wiggled the foot before standing up.

"Is that your own work?" Julian asked, as Otto walked around the room.

"Nah, Fritz made it. I couldn't have made it; when it was built, I was screaming in pain and trying to stop myself from bleeding to death." Otto said, looking through stacks of blueprints. Lilith glanced nervously around the room. There was a giant machine in the middle that seemed to have no purpose other than periodically shooting lightning to a similar machine on the ceiling. There were desks all around the room covered with gears and sprockets and bits of machinery that Lilith didn't recognize.

It was then that another man walked into the room, whom the others presumed to be Fritz. He was wearing a gas mask for reasons that made Ray and Lilith both worried about the contents of the room he had just come from. This man had all his limbs intact, though had a large chunk of his torso replaced with a brass case that clicked with the eerie regularity of a heartbeat. "What's up?" He asked, though muffled through the mask.

"Fritz! You seen that Eldricyte card?" Otto asked.

"Oh yeah," Fritz said. "It's in my room." He turned to the guests. "Follow me!" They walked into another room, luckily avoiding the part of the lab that apparently required a gas mask. This room looked like it was entirely shelves, floor to ceiling, filled with containers of chemicals. A workbench in the middle had on it an odd box that shot an arc of electricity into a dish every couple seconds or so.

"What exactly do you do?" Lilith asked, inching away from the electricity-shooting box.

"Science!" said Otto proudly. "But professionally? We just build machines to do whatever people in the city want machines to do."

"Then we use the money to fund our own experiments – though lately a few people have been paying us with Duel Monsters cards, so we have to sell them and then work on our experiments." Fritz added. He pointed to the box on the table. "That there is one of Otto's pet projects. I don't know what your chemistry background is, but put simply, he's trying to break elements down at the nuclear level." Ray glanced at Lilith, who glanced at Julian. Julian shrugged to Lilith, who then shrugged to Ray.

"It's called nuclear fission," Otto said, noticing the confused looks. "I accidentally turned uranium into barium one day, and it released a ridiculous amount of energy. Much more than I expected, in fact." He tapped his mechanical leg. "If I can replicate that experiment, and not blow any more of my limbs off, we might have ourselves a really efficient fuel source. It could change the world."

"I've heard that from other inventors," said Julian. "But I have yet to see anyone change the most important things."

"Well, you can't solve all your problems with nuclear fission," said Otto. "But we'll solve as many as we can. All right... here's Fritz's room." Fritz entered alone and swiftly returned holding a white card and two duel discs.

"Let's see what you'll wager," Fritz said, pulling off his gas mask. Otto looked over his shoulder as he flipped through a binder Julian handed him. "That one's cool. What do you think?"

"Lorelei the Symphonic Arsenal. Sounds neat," Otto agreed. "All right. We'll bet our Eldricyte against your Lorelei."

"Can I see the Eldricyte first?' Julian asked. Fritz shrugged and held the card in front of Julian. "Ah, **Eldricyte Neutros**. Sounds good." He handed it back to Fritz before Ray and Lilith could see it. "Do you have a location in mind?" He looked around to the assorted debris in the current room.

-

"Why are we on the roof?" Lilith demanded, as she and Ray stood opposite the two partly-mechanical mechanics.

"You heard them. It's the only place big enough that isn't covered in things that can explode." Ray activated his disc. "I hope you're ready for this."

"Of course. I was hired for a job, so I'm going to do it." She glanced at the two opponents, who were shuffling their decks. "Just don't screw up."

"Duel!" All four of them said simultaneously. (Ray and Lilith: 8000, Otto and Fritz: 8000)

A giant holographic coin determined that Otto and Fritz would make the first move. "Would you like to do the honours?" Fritz asked.

"If you insist," Otto replied. "I'll go first." He glanced briefly at his hand. "I activate **Ancient Gear Castle**." A giant, medieval castle covered in cannons rose from the ground behind him. "Now I summon **Ancient Gear Soldier**." A dirty, grey automaton appeared; gears whirring. (1300 - 1600 ATK) "That adds a counter to Ancient Gear Castle. That's all."

_The last person to go gets to attack,_ Lilith considered. _And since I barely attack, Ray should obviously go last. So..._ She put her hand on her deck, but Ray interrupted her.

"My turn! Draw!" Ray said, over the sound of Lilith slapping her forehead. "I summon **Solanimus Burning Snake**!" The lava-like serpent appeared; hissing its fiery tongue. "I'll set one card. End turn!"

"And I'm up," Fritz said. "I'll summon **Yellow Gadget**. This adds a counter to our team's **Ancient Gear Castle** and lets me add a **Green Gadget** from my deck to my hand." A small yellow robot leapt into the air, landing on its card. (1200 ATK) "I'll set one card and it's off to the lady."

"Thanks," Lilith said dryly. _Last game, Ray started with Solanimus Wild Explosion. If I give him a good target to use it on, I can summon Ice Priestess and let him summon a monster at the same time._ "I summon **Sacred Sprite of Lunanima**!" The water-winged pixie appeared, hands clasped in prayer. (600 ATK) "Go for it, Ray."

"Go for what? Otto's up next."

"I..." Lilith sighed. "Dammit. I set one card. End turn!"

"Then it's back to me," said Otto. "Now that Gear Castle has two Counters, I can Tribute it for **Ancient Gear Golem**." The castle exploded; its pieces reconfigured in mid-air into an even larger mechanical giant. (3000 ATK) "Soldier attacks Sacred Sprite." The robot aimed its gun and blasted the pixie full of holes. (Ray and Lilith: 7300)

"When Sacred Sprite of Lunanima is destroyed, I can Special Summon two more!" Lilith announced, as two identical sprites hovered into place. (DEF: 1700) _I should use Moonlight Veil now – it's perfect. But wait, no. Ray's going to charge in like an idiot on his turn. I'll need Veil to protect him._ She sighed. _This is going to suck._

"Ancient Gear Golem attacks another Sprite," Otto commanded. His giant punched one of the sprites. "And I'm not sure if you knew, but my Gear Golem has Piercing." The shockwave blew past Lilith. (Ray and Lilith: 6000)

"I did, actually," Lilith muttered. _This is fine. I can still activate Moonlight Veil when Ray runs into something – and if he doesn't, I'll just save this sprite to make Ice Priestess next turn._

"My turn!" said Ray. "By discarding a Solanimus monster, I can Special Summon **Solanimus Shining Star**!" The shining humanoid figure took a stance, blazing brightly. "Now, I Normal Summon **Solanimus Blinding Blade**." A white-and-gold knight leapt onto the field. "I activate Blinding Blade's effect!" He pointed at his snake. "I can now reduce **Ancient Gear Golem's** ATK by my Snake's 1800 ATK." The knight's sword released a bright light; the Golem clutched its visible eye. (ATK: 1200) "And now it's time to Synchro. Thanks for the material, Lilith."

"What?" Lilith asked as her Sprite disappeared in a flash of light. "Ray, wait wait wait!"

"Master of destruction, burn down everything in your path. Synchro Summon! **Solanimus Raging Dragon**!" The enormous, orange serpent descended onto the field.

_That... idiot..._ Lilith clenched a fist.

"And of course, when I Synchro with Shining Star for a Solanimus monster, I can Special Summon one of the monsters."

_Oh, I guess he had a plan after all. I owe him an apology._ She thought.

"Oh, wait, never mind. The non-Tuner has to be a Solanimus." Ray realized, ignoring Lilith's expression of absolute fury. "Oh well. Back me up, Lilith. Raging Dragon attacks Gear Golem!" Ray pointed dramatically. The dragon released a stream of fire from its jaws, which froze in mid-air.

"**Mirror Force**," Fritz said. "I got your back, Otto."

"And Lilith's got mine, I'm sure," Ray looked towards his partner, who was giving him a soul-piercing glare. "Right?"

"You. Idiot." Lilith growled, as Raging Dragon's flames swept away Ray's entire field of monsters.

"Why didn't you do something?" Ray demanded.

"What could I have done?" Lilith cried. "I _could've_ used..."

"Um... I'm going to assume it's my turn," Fritz said, as Ray and Lilith continued yelling at each other. "I hate to interrupt, but I'm Tributing **Yellow Gadget** and **Ancient Gear Soldier** to summon **Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon**." The clockwork dragon let out an eerie roar as it stretched its wings. (3000 ATK) "It gains an effect from the Gadget, but I'm just going to play **Limiter Removal** and attack. Cool?" He asked as the giant dragon descended upon Ray.

"Do something, Lilith!" Ray cried.

"You do something! I can't!" Lilith protested, as a shot of flame from the dragon struck Ray. (Ray and Lilith: 0 LP) The holograms faded. "Why did you Synchro with my monster?"

"It had less ATK than mine. Why didn't you play any Traps?" Ray asked.

"Enough!" Julian roared. "Both of you..." He exhaled deeply. "We'll discuss it later." He tossed Lorelei to Otto. "Otto... Fritz... would you be willing to bet that Lorelei and the Eldricyte against... say, five more of my cards?"

"Five more?" Otto asked incredulously.

"It's very important to me that I get that Eldricyte," said Julian.

"All of his cards were worth a lot," Fritz said to Otto. "And that duel went pretty well."

"All right," Otto agreed. "For the first five cards in your binder, round two."

"I'll be your opponent," said Julian. He borrowed Ray's disc. "As these two obviously have much to learn."

"Two against one?" Fritz asked. "You realize that you'll have half our life points and you'll be playing half as many turns, right?"

"I do realize that," Julian said, shuffling his deck. "But I clearly can't rely on Ray or Lilith."

"All right," Otto said, shaking his head. "Your funeral."

-

"Duel!" The three said. (Julian: 4000 LP / Otto and Fritz: 8000 LP)

"The least we can do is let you go first," said Otto.

"Thank you," said Julian, as he drew a card. "I summon **Duality – Pungo**." A white-and-black lizard with an extremely spiky tail appeared. (ATK: 1800) "Next, I activate the Continuous Spell **Third Eye of Enlightenment**." A beam of light shone down on him, and a holographic eye opened in his forehead. "Now I'll set one card. Your turn. But first, during my End Phase, I activate the effect of Third Eye." He pointed to his lizard. It hopped up onto two legs and grew to about four times its original size. It now had a third eye right between its normal eyes. "I transform Pungo into **Duality - Pungo Exertus** from my Extra Deck." The dinosaur-like creature let out a tremendous roar. (ATK: 2400)

"Dualities?" Lilith asked. "I've heard of those cards. They're supposed to be ridiculously rare."

"Well, so are all of Julian's other cards," Ray said, shrugging.

"An impressive first turn, Mr. Nobel!" said Otto, drawing. "I summon **Ancient Gear**!" A robotic torso rolled itself onto the field. (ATK: 3000) "Next, I play **Machine Duplication**." Two identical copies appeared in a flash of light. "And next... **Spell Gear**. I tribute my three Ancient Gears, and now I can Special Summon two **Ancient Gear Golems**!" Otto raised his arm as two mechanical giants descended onto the roof. (ATK: 3000)

"What a weird card," Ray said.

"No kidding," Lilith agreed. "It's bizarre that he can use it even though he already Normal Summoned, and that it Special Summons a monster that can't be Special Summoned."  
>"And it's my move," said Fritz. "I summon <strong>Green Gadget<strong>." A green gear-robot spun onto the field. (1400 ATK) "Adding **Red Gadget** to my hand. Next, I'll play **Smashing Ground**. Say goodbye to your dinosaur." A gash appeared in the ground, carrying away the yin-yang reptile.

"When a Duality is destroyed, I can activate this card!" Julian flipped a switch on the back of his disc, flipping with it his Trap card. "**Shattered Duality**." A yin-yang symbol appeared in the air and dissolved. "Now, I can Special Summon two Duality monsters from my deck, as long as they have the same level and different attributes. Behold, **Duality – Calco**!" An enormous black-and-white elephant stampeded into play. (6*, ATK: 2400) "And**Duality - Cogito**!" A similarly-coloured octopus surfaced from the roof as if it were water. (6*, ATK: 2100)

"Dang, nice move," Fritz said. "I'll set a card. Your turn."

"My turn, then," Julian said. "Currently, my elephant is LIGHT and my octopus is DARK. However, Duality monsters can change Attributes. I'll convert Calco into a DARK monster and Cogito into a LIGHT monster."

"To what end?" asked Otto.

"Their effects change with their attributes," Julian replied. "Now that Cogito's LIGHT, I can take control of one of your monsters until the End Phase." Cogito's tentacles disappeared below the surface of the ceiling. One of the Golems disappeared and resurfaced on Julian's field. "Also, now that Calco's DARK, you can't activate card effects during the Battle Phase. But first, I'll summon **Duality – Servo**." A turtle shell spun onto the field, and the turtle it contained popped out its limbs and head. (ATK: 500) "Servo's originally a DARK monster, but I'll change its Attribute to LIGHT – switching the ATK and DEF of your monsters. Now! My Golem attacks yours!" The two giants collided, causing a cloud of smoke and the destruction of both.

"Nice move," Otto said, instinctively covering his face from the holographic smoke.

"Thanks," Julian said. "Cogito attacks **Green Gadget** whose ATK is now only 600." The octopus fired a jet of white ink that struck the machine, shorting it out. (Otto and Fritz: 6500 LP) "Now, Calco and Servo attack directly!" The elephant stampeded into Otto; the turtle spun into Fritz. (Otto and Fritz: 3600 LP) "I'll set one card. Finally, during the End Phase, I'll transform Duality – Servo into **Duality – Servo Lente**." The turtle became a giant tortoise, standing almost as tall as the elephant. A third eye opened in its forehead. "With Servo Lente on the field, I can negate two card effects or battles per turn that would destroy a Duality. Also, the ATK and DEF of all monsters become whichever of the two is higher for mine and whichever is lower for yours." He pointed at the tortoise. "For example, Servo Lente's 2800 DEF is higher than its base ATK of 1600. So, its ATK is now 2800. Calco is unaffected, since its ATK is naturally higher. Cogito has 2600 DEF to its 2100 ATK, so its ATK becomes 2600 too."

"This is insane!" Ray cried. "His cards have so many effects!"

"My turn!" said Otto. "I'll play **Pot of Avarice**. I shuffle my Ancient Gears and two Golems back into my deck..." he did so. "And then I draw two cards. I'll activate **Lightning Vortex**. I discard **Ancient Gear Golem** to..."

"Do nothing," Julian corrected. Lightning bolts descended from the sky, but the great tortoise caught them in its mouth. "Twice per turn, Servo Lente negates a card or battle that would destroy Dualities."  
>"Well, I can't Normal Summon because of <strong>Spell Gear<strong>; I had to do something. Your turn, Fritz!"

"It's enough!" Fritz promised. "I activate **Ancient Gear Workshop**. Luckily we share graveyards in a tag game." Otto tossed him the **Ancient Gear Golem** he had discarded. "Now, I play **Polymerization**!" The mechanical giant appeared in the sky, along with the Gadjiltron Dragon Lilith and Ray recognized as well as a Chimera that they hadn't seen. "Its gears spin after the advent of a new millennium. One machine equal to the Gods! Fusion Summon! **Ultimate**! **Ancient**! **Gear Golem**!" An enormous centaur stepped onto the field; dwarfing the rest of the creatures. (4400 ATK - 3400 ATK)

"Oh," said Julian. "Didn't expect that."

"Ultimate Gear Golem attacks Servo Lente!" The centaur's clawed hand flew at the tortoise, but stopped at the shell. (Julian: 3400 LP)

"Servo Lente stops its destruction and destroys the attacking monster!" said Julian. "However..."

"Ultimate Golem summons the original **Ancient Gear Golem** when it's destroyed!" Fritz cried, as the centaur ripped its forward half out and dissolved. The remaining pieces formed the much more tolerably-sized giant. (3000 ATK) "My Golem attacks Servo Lente too!"

"I hope you're watching, Ray and Lilith!" Julian cried, as his tortoise disappeared. (Julian: 3200 LP) "The key to victory is not one ultimately-balanced creature. No matter how powerful one person seems, they can never hold true balance."

"It's your turn when you're done monologuing," Fritz said.

Julian didn't draw. "One person being perfectly balanced is a fairy tale. It simply doesn't exist. That's why I need the two of you!" He looked back towards Ray and Lilith, who were watching eagerly. "I need you to accomplish what I can't alone, just as I need Calco and Cogito to accomplish what Servo Lente could not! I activate my facedown **Duality Dual Beam**!" He flicked a switch, flipping with it his facedown card. "When I control Dualities of different Attributes, I can destroy up to three cards on the field, provided at least one is a monster and one is a Spell or Trap." He pointed towards Fritz' unactivated Set card as well as the Golem. The elephant fired a beam of purple light from its trunk, meeting a beam of yellow light from Cogito's tentacles. The two beams spiralled around each other and tore through Fritz's cards. "And that was, of course, during your End Phase, as the selected monsters can't attack during the turn I use Dual Beam." He drew a card. "And now that it's a separate turn, Calco and Cogito attack!" The octopus leapt onto the elephant's back; the two stampeded towards Fritz and Otto, each striking a target. (Otto and Fritz: 0 LP)

"That was amazing!" Ray cried.

"I'm not sure if I believe what you said about us being able to accomplish what you can't," Lilith said. "Seems like a load of crap after seeing that."

"Yes, well," Julian said, passing Ray back his disc. "Cogito and Calco work together a lot better than the two of you."

"I am in awe, sir," said Otto, handing Julian the Eldricyte and Lorelei. "Please duel us again sometime."

"It would be my pleasure," said Julian. He prodded the back of the Eldricyte, then sighed.

"What's wrong?" Lilith asked.

"It's a fake," Julian said, sighing again. "A very good fake, but a fake nonetheless."

"Seriously?" Otto snatched the card back and stared at it. "It looks fine to me. The right font, the right paper..."

"I'm sorry. I can tell," Julian said. "Well, that explains how the card got here, anyway. Someone must have just heard about it and printed a fake to give to you as payment. Ray, Lilith, let's get going."

As they exited the lab, given farewells by ABU, Julian said, "Next stop – Greece. But before we get there, the two of you have some work to do."

"Right," Lilith and Ray said simultaneously.

"That's a good start," Julian said.


	3. Flight 3: Crossing the Threshold

**Flight 3: Crossing the Threshold**_  
><em>

_Who are those people?_ A young Lilith asked, watching a couple men run through the house's main foyer and down the stairs. _Are they here about Dad's invention?_ She put down the stack of cards she was holding and silently followed the men. As she approached her father's workshop, she heard the voices that she assumed belonged to the men. _What are they saying? I need to get closer._

"...directly into his brain stem."

"What the hell was he trying to accomplish?"

"I have no idea."

_What?_Lilith asked herself. For the first time she could remember, the door to her father's workshop was unlocked and open. The two men continued talking about something. She entered the workshop. At first she had wondered why the men took no notice of her, but the same sight that was completely capturing their attention caught hers as well. In the centre of the room was a man in a chair with wires sticking out of his head and neck. Every now and then a jolt of electricity shot out from one of the wires, making the man twitch. "D...dad?" Lilith said.

"Oh God," One of the men said. "Get her out of here!"

"Dad!" Lilith screamed at the corpse in the chair as the other man scooped her up and carried her out of the room. She cried and struggled against the man holding her in vain, but no matter how far away Lilith was dragged from her father, the image would follow her...

_Same nightmare every night._ Lilith thought, glancing out the _Eternal Eclipse_'s window to the morning sky. _You'd think my subconscious would be a bit more creative._ She picked up her pillow. _For the first year or so, I'd be crying while I had that dream. Good to know I won't waste any more tears on that idiot._

"Hey, Lilith," Ray said, as she took an empty seat at the table at which he and Julian were finishing breakfast. "Sleep well?"

"More or less," she replied, as she took a few slices of toast off the plate Julian offered her. "Where's our next stop?"

"Skiathos," said Julian. "It's a small island focused mainly on the airship-building industry. Nonetheless, there's a pair of duelling sisters who came fifth in the Eldricyte tournament."

"Only fifth?" Ray sighed. "I wanted to test ourselves against the winners of the tournament!"

"Considering yesterday's events, I think the fifth-place duellists will be more than enough of a challenge for you," Julian said dully. "I won't try to make you change your decks too dramatically, but at the very least, try to come up with a few combos. And for the love of God, don't mess each other's strategies up."

"Right," Ray and Lilith said together.

"We have an hour or so before Skiathos," said Julian, rising to his feet. "When the two of you think you're ready, duel me. I'll be in the engine room... there's been a weird clicking noise."

As Julian left, Ray and Lilith spread their decks over the table. "You have a lot of different cards," Lilith said. "Aren't you worried you'll draw the wrong one?"

"Not really," Ray replied. "I trust my cards... and besides, there aren't many Solanimus cards that work well in multiples like that Wilting Lotus of yours. You've got yourself a lot of copies of a few cards, so what about versatility?"

"All my deck has to do is a few things really well. I don't think you'll be complaining if I use three Moonlight Veils to save your monsters." She snapped her fingers. "That reminds me! That Wild Explosion you have... we've got to use this combo with my Sacred Sprite."

"Oh yeah!" Ray cried. "Good call. And how about these? I think if you use this when they attack, and I've got Raging Dragon..."

"Ooh, yeah, that'll work," Lilith agreed. She looked over Ray's deck and frowned. "Seriously? Isn't this combo here a little inconsistent?"

"My deck doesn't focus on it. It's just a nice little bonus. But more importantly, this deck is made up of my parents' decks – they both played Solanimus."

"Your parents played?"

"Yep. Taught me how to play when I could barely read the cards. That's how I became so good."

"We might be good, but..." Lilith sighed. "I really don't want to repeat what happened yesterday," She muttered solemnly. "We're Nationals winners. There's no excuse for us losing that badly."

"One non-Duel Monsters bit of advice my parents gave me..." said Ray, holding up an index finger for emphasis. "The past is going to stay the same no matter how much you look at it. So the only important thing to focus on is the future."

"I think my father said something similar to that," Lilith muttered. "Are your parents scientists?"

"Nah. My dad was an assistant to some inventor for a while, but in the end, they were both duellists. Made their money the same way I'm doing now."

_'Were'..._ Lilith noted. _In fact, he's used the past tense about his parents the whole time._

"Hey, Ray, Lilith," Julian said, coming back about a half-hour later. "That weird clicking noise... oh." Neither Ray or Lilith had noticed him; they were completely preoccupied by their conversation. Even though from what Julian could hear, it barely involved the cards spread among the table, he smiled to himself. As he turned to leave, there was a loud _thunk_noise from above.

"What was that?" Ray asked.

"Why would either of us know?" Lilith retorted.

The three ran to the top deck of the ship. Lying in a heap, near one of the giant cords that held the balloon to the ship, was what looked like a bicycle with wings. A woman was standing near the wreckage, brushing herself off. She glanced over to the three concerned faces, moved her goggles up to the top of her cap and waved. "Hey," she said. "Sorry about that."

"Are you okay?" Ray asked, jogging over to the busted machine.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," The girl replied. "The ornithopter's seen better days, though."

"Orino...?" Ray said, looking over the machine.

"Ornithopter. Most airships work like yours with the balloon, or a glider. But my sister and I make ones with flapping wings. I've always liked them better, but they leave a bit to be desired in terms of durability."

"And control, apparently," Lilith added.

"Oh, no. That was my fault." The girl chuckled. "My hair got in my face and I couldn't see where I was going." She took a hair elastic from a pocket and tied her ridiculously long hair into a ponytail. "There we go. By the way, my name's Nephele. Nice to meet you."

"Nephele..." Julian muttered, as Ray introduced the three of them.

"Hm?" Lilith said.

"Nothing," Julian lied.

"So, is your orni-whatever flyable?" Ray asked.

"Nah, the wing's busted," Nephele said. "Dammit. I guess my sister was right, and this material is too flimsy. I just wanted to make it lighter." She sighed. "Anyway, where are you guys landing next?"

"Skiathos," said Ray.

"Sweet!" Nephele clenched her fists in victory. "Drop me off at Ambrosia Airships and I'll owe you guys a favour."

"Shouldn't it be Ambrosia Ornithopters?" Lilith asked.

"Eh, we mostly build regular airships. I just like the ornithopters." Nephele put her hands on the deck's railing and looked down at the landscape flying by below. "Real wings... making us free as the birds. Don't get me wrong, this is awesome too. But to fly using nothing more than human power and artificial wings... that's true freedom."

"Sounds like fun."

"Oh, it is." Nephele glanced at Ray, Lilith and Julian. "So what are you guys doing? It's rare to see a three-person airship."

"We're travelling across Greece duelling people for cards!" Ray said.

"Ah," Nephele said, sounding somewhat disappointed. "I thought maybe the three of you were hunting some mystical treasure... or maybe saving the world from some unspeakable evil."

"If we were saving the world from an unspeakable evil, we couldn't talk about it," Lilith pointed out.

"Oh, that's true!" Nephele said, entirely seriously. "Or how about going on a spiritual journey to discover the true meaning of... something about your past, I dunno."

"Nope, we're just after cards," said Julian.

Nephele sighed again. "That's my real dream. To go on one of those epic adventures you always read about."

"You have a personal flying machine. Several, by the sounds of it," said Lilith. "There's probably not much stopping you."

"Well... I can't just leave my sister to do all the work herself," Nephele said, shrugging. "We told our parents that we'd be able to support ourselves – which is true, but we need to rely on each other for that. Basically, we need to keep a steady income."

_A steady income, huh?_Ray and Lilith glanced at each other. Among their earlier conversation topics had been how the two of them earned their livings from various Duel Monsters tournaments.

"Ah, I see Skiathos!" Julian said, breaking the silence and pointing down at an island. "I've already inputted the coordinates, so the ship is landing already."

"Wait a second... last time the ship landed, it tilted like forty-five degrees downwards." Lilith said. "How come it's barely declining now?" Julian shrugged, but Lilith made a guess, "Did you make the ship tilt so that we wouldn't finish our duel?"

"Lilith Lilith Lilith," said Julian. "I'm but an old man with an old brain, and that would take a lot of complicated timing and planning. Do you – "

"He's not saying no." Lilith said, turning to Ray and frowning.

"I don't get it," said Nephele.

"Don't worry about it."

The airship produced legs from hatches in the bottom, which bent at the 'knees' to absorb the impact from the slow descent. The ship touched down in a giant field. On its outskirts was a hangar with a sign reading 'Ambrosia'.

"You didn't have to land here," Nephele said to Julian as the four of them walked off the gangplank; Nephele and Ray dragging Nephele's former ornithopter. "Though I do appreciate it."

"That's actually a coincidence," said Julian. "You remember how Ray mentioned – "

"Nephele!" A woman yelled. She ran from the hangar to the _Eternal Eclipse_at mindboggling speed, leapt onto the gangplank and flicked Nephele in the forehead. "What the hell were you thinking? I told you that material would never hold!"

"It held fine until I crashed into these guys' ship..." Nephele mumbled.

"Well, I guess that's a bit better than your wings breaking mid-air and you falling onto the ship like I was picturing," The woman admitted. "But still, don't fly things we haven't tested yet! Especially not at altitudes where you die if you fall!"

"You... you hadn't tested it yet?" Lilith reiterated.

"Flying it _is_testing it," Nephele argued, earning her another flick from the new woman. "Ow!"

"Anyway, you have my gratitude for returning my sister in one piece," The woman said to the gang. She actually didn't look like she was Nephele's sister – darker hair, tanner skin and a stronger-looking build. "My name's Demetria Ambrosia. Your ship's not one of ours, but I can give it a tune-up in exchange for not letting Nephele fall to her death."

"To be fair, if we weren't there, she wouldn't have crashed into anything," said Ray.

"Actually, I had a different offer for you," said Julian. "Would you instead do us the honour of a duel?"

"Eh?" Nephele and Demetria vocalized.

"The reason why we're in Skiathos is to find people with the Eldricyte cards," Julian explained. "If I'm not mistaken, that includes the Ambrosia Sisters."

"Wait, we literally ran into people with an Eldricyte while in mid-air?" Ray demanded.

"If you were going to run into anyone while in mid-air, it was Nephele," Demetria said. "I digress. I don't really have any great attachment to the Eldricyte."

"Me either," said Nephele. "But since it's one-of-a-kind, we'll want to bet it against something good."

"Shouldn't you be selling it, if you're having troubles making ends meet?" Lilith asked.

"Oh, don't worry about that. The card was an add-on to the prize; we got some good money out of it too," Demetria said. "Nephele, can you get our discs? We accept, Mr..."

"Julian Nobel. Julian is fine."

"Well then, sure. I'll take a look at what you're betting."

When preparations had finally been met (Demetria and Nephele were betting their Eldricyte – Basos the Flayer against Queen of Fate – Eternia, and Julian had made absolutely sure their Eldricyte was real), the four players squared off in the field near the _Eternal Eclipse_. "I feel like we should go easy on them," said Demetria. "Since we owe them for helping you not die, taking a card from them afterwards would be ungrateful."

"Not duelling us with your all would be even more ungrateful!" Ray protested. "Fight us with everything you have."

"You got it!" Nephele promised.

"Duel!" said the four of them. (8000 – 8000)

"My go!" Nephele said. "I summon **Cyber Harpie Lady**!" In a whirlwind of feathers, there appeared a pink-haired bird-lady holding a whip in her talons. "Next, I activate **Elegant Egotist**. This lets me summon another harpie from my deck... behold, **Harpie Lady 1**!" Another bird-lady with the exact same hairstyle appeared. "She gives all WIND monsters 300 ATK. So Cyber Harpie's up to 2100, and she herself is up to 1600. I'll set one card. End turn!"

_Nice opening._ Lilith thought. _She's like Ray._

"Then I'm up!" said Ray. "I summon **Solanimus Magmagician**!" A geyser of fire signalled a man in a red wizard's outfit, holding a staff made of cooled lava (1900 ATK). "When this card is Normal Summoned, I can discard a Solanimus to draw one more card. Goodbye, **Solanimus Vicious Hatchling**, hello... ooh, nice. I'll set one card. End turn!"

_That card! It's Wild Explosion. I can tell._Lilith said to herself, smiling slightly at the look on Ray's face.

"Then it's my move," said Demetria. "First, I activate **Amazoness Village**!" Huts and a spear fence appeared around the duel, enclosing the players in a jungle tribe. A few holographic woman warriors even walked from hut to hut. "I'm going to borrow a Harpie, Nephele."

"Do it."

"Then I tribute **Cyber Harpie Lady** to summon **Amazoness Queen**." A beam of light struck the armoured harpie, and in its place appeared a blue-haired woman in an ornate throne. She lazily got to her feet and swung a butcher knife-like sword onto her shoulder. (2400 - 2600) "I'll set a card too, and end my turn."

"All right," said Lilith, drawing a card. "I hope you're ready, Ray."

"Always!"

"Then I summon **Sacred Sprite of Lunanima**!" The black pixie with wings of water appeared, but didn't get very far before it exploded in a burst of flames. "Heh, nice."

"**Solanimus Wild Explosion**!" Ray announced, flipping up a Trap. "This destroys a Normal Summoned monster, and lets me summon a Solanimus from my hand. I choose **Solanimus Fireraptor**!" The orange-skinned dinosaur leapt out of the flames and let out a wild screech.

"Now..." Lilith began, but Ray cut her off.

"Sorry, Lilith, there's more. When Fireraptor is summoned by a Solanimus card, I can destroy one card on the field and then give Fireraptor 500 extra ATK. Fireraptor – burn this village to the ground!" The raptor went berserk, spewing flames which immolated all of the huts; the landscape returned to the regular field. (2200 ATK - 2700 ATK)

"Now, as I was saying," said Lilith. "When Sacred Sprite is destroyed, I can Special Summon two more from my deck." Two identical fairies appeared, dancing around in the air. (1700 DEF.) "But they won't be here long. I overlay my two Sacred Sprites!" The two fairies flew high into the air, out of sight. "Goddess of the frozen Wasteland, cast the world into eternal winter!" Snow began to fall, joining together in one pile. "Xyz Summon; **Ice Priestess of Lunanima**!" The person-height pile solidified into human shape, becoming a woman with pale blue skin and a white, flowing dress. Despite her light colours, she gave off an ominous, eerie feeling. (2500 DEF)

"Nice move," Demetria admitted.

"There's more," said Lilith. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can target a monster you control." She pointed at the amazon. Ice began to form around its feet, working its way up her body until she was fully encased in ice. "The target can't attack, be Tributed or used as Synchro or Xyz Material as long as it stays on the field. Also, its effect is negated."

"With a monster and a trap, you guys summoned a 2700-ATK monster, an Xyz monster, blew up one of our main cards and made another useless," Nephele said. "Not bad."

_Perfect teamwork!_ Julian thought. _And it only took them two days to... learn how to play two cards together._Then he sighed.

"I'll set one card and end my turn," Lilith announced.

"During your End Phase, I activate my set **Mystical Space Typhoon**, and destroy your Set card." Demetria said, as a giant typhoon tore through a hologram of Moonlight Veil.

"Then the path's all clear!" Nephele said, drawing. "I activate my facedown – **Hysteric Party**. I discard **Harpie Queen**, and now I can Special Summon all the Harpies in my Graveyard. Be reborn, **Cyber Harpie Lady** and**Harpie Queen**!" In a flash of feathers appeared the pink-haired armoured lady (1800 - 2100 ATK) and a teal-haired winged woman with a fierce gaze (1900 - 2200 ATK). "And now, I summon **Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon**!" A tiny, pink dragon lowered itself from the sky onto the field. The three harpies each grabbed chains that were wrapped around its neck. (1200 - 1500 ATK)

"That's it?" Ray asked. "That's not a dragon. That's a..." He stopped mid-sentence, noticing the dragon becoming much bigger.

"My dragon gains effects for each Harpie I control," Nephele announced. "Having one Harpie means you can't attack other Harpies. Having two means its ATK is doubled – and then **Harpie Lady 1** puts it up to 2700. And having three means I can destroy one card per turn. I think I'll take advantage of that third effect!" She pointed at Ray's blazing dinosaur. "**Pet Baby Dragon** destroys **Solanimus Fireraptor**!" The dragon released a gust of wind from its jaws that extinguished the raptor's flames, leaving nothing but a raptor-sized pile of ash.

"Dammit," Ray said. Then he smiled. "I see why you guys did so well in that tournament."

"Flattery will get you nowhere! **Pet Dragon** attacks **Ice Priestess**!" The dragon released another gust of air that shattered the ice-woman. "**Harpie Queen** attacks **Solanimus Magmagician**!" The royal bird-girl shredded the red wizard with razor-sharp talons. (300 damage - 7700 LP) "Now for the fun part. **Cyber Harpie Lady** and **Harpie Lady 1**attack directly!" Lilith was struck with the armoured woman's whip as the unarmed version clawed at Ray's face. (3700 damage - 4000 LP)

_Half our life points gone already..._ Lilith cursed. _And we've got nothing on the field. This was my failure._

"I discard **Solanimus Lucky Rabbit**," Ray announced, chucking a card into his Graveyard slot. Nothing happened.

"I'm curious what that does," Nephele admitted. "You're up."

"I'll show you!" Ray said, grinning. As he drew a card, three miniature volcanoes appeared and from the searing lava leapt **Solanimus Fireraptor**, **Magmagician**and a young Chinese dragon with eggshells scattered on the ground around it.

"What just happened?" Demetria demanded.

"**Lucky Rabbit** happened!" said Ray. "By discarding it, during my next Standby Phase, I can Special Summon Solanimus monsters from my Graveyard up to the number of times I took damage that turn. We took damage three times, so I Special Summoned **Fireraptor**, **Magmagician** and **Vicious Hatchling**."

"Nice," Lilith said. "And of course, Fireraptor's effect..."

"That's right!" Ray gave her a thumbs-up. "When **Fireraptor** is Special Summoned by a Solanimus card, I can destroy a card you control and it gains 500 ATK. Now Lilith, I know **Amazoness Queen**isn't a threat, but something tells me to get rid of it."

"Agreed."

"Well, without further ado..." Ray snapped his fingers, pointing at the block of ice that was once a queen. It exploded into flames. (Fireraptor: 2700 ATK) "Now let me tell you about **Vicious Hatchling**. It's a Level 2 Tuner with a nice effect. I tune **Vicious Hatchling** with **Fireraptor**!" The two reptiles flew into the sky. "Master of destruction, burn down everything in your path!" Ray raised his arm. "Synchro Summon! **Solanimus Raging Dragon**!" A great orange serpent descended from the sky, breathing fire and smoke. (3000 ATK)

"So that's your team's offensive power, eh?" Demetria asked.

"It does its job," Ray said. "Oh, and **Vicious Hatchling** does its job too. I can have the Synchro Summoned monster gain ATK equal to the ATK of a non-Tuner, until the End Phase. **Fireraptor**'s got 2200 ATK." (3000 ATK - 5200 ATK)

"Bring it on!" Nephele cried.

"Gladly! **Solanimus Raging Dragon** attacks **Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon**!" The two dragons clashed in the sky; the little pink dragon's air did nothing to repel the giant orange's enormous flames. (2500 damage - 5500 LP) "And now **Raging Dragon**'s effect hits you with damage equal to **Pet Dragon**'s ATK." Another fireball struck Nephele. (1200 damage - 4300 LP) "**Solanimus Magmagician** attacks **Harpie Lady 1**!" The wizard threw a couple fireballs; the harpie burst into flames and vanished. (300 damage - 4000 LP) "And now it's a tie game. Demetria, you're up."

"It won't be a tie for long," Demetria promised. "I summon **Amazoness Swordswoman**." A tan, muscled woman appeared, unsurprisingly clutching a sword. (1500 ATK) "Now I equip her with **Amazoness Heirloom**." A green amulet appeared around the woman's neck.

"Her ATK didn't even go up. My dragon's not scared," Ray said.

_Ray, you idiot!_Lilith seethed.

"**Swordswoman** attacks **Raging Dragon**!" Demetria ordered. The woman charged and raised her sword. But instead of hitting dragon scale, it struck a sheet of ice. The ice formed a creepy ghost's head and disappeared, repelling the attack.

"I have discard-from-the-hand cards too," Lilith explained. "That's **Snowflake Ghost of Lunanima**, which lets me negate the attack."

"Why would you do that?" Ray demanded.

"**Swordswoman** would've dealt the battle damage to us instead of them. And then **Heirloom** would've protected **Swordswoman** from battle and destroyed your dragon," Lilith said. "But also, after the attack is negated, I can Special Summon a Lunanima from my Graveyard. Return, **Ice Priestess of Lunanima**." She snapped her fingers, and the pale woman returned to the field. "Unfortunately, because of **Raging Dragon**, she has to stay in Attack mode." (1500 ATK)

"Hmm, not bad," Demetria said. "It's your turn."

"I won't waste any time," Lilith promised. "I summon **Seadancer of Lunanima**." Her water-tailed mermaid rose from the ground. (100 ATK) "I'm gonna make sure that Heirloom trick doesn't happen again. **Seadancer** attaches Snowflake Ghost to Ice Priestess..." A ball of light flew around the priestess, but faded immediately. "And now I remove it to have **Priestess** freeze your **Swordswoman**." Indeed the amazon was encased in a block of ice, similar to her queen.

"How come _my_ monsters aren't cool enough to be frozen?" Nephele asked. **Cyber Harpie Lady**gave her a worried look.

"I'll set one card and that's all for me," said Lilith.

Nephele drew. "**Cyber Harpie**, attack **Seadancer**! Let's show Lilith why you're worth being encased in ice." The harpie flew at the mermaid, but she disappeared. "Wait, what?" Nephele asked.

"Meet **Shift**," Lilith said, smiling slightly. "It changes the attack target to..." She snapped her fingers, and **Solanimus Raging Dragon**appeared where the mermaid had just been. "That."

"Awesome!" Ray cried. "**Raging Dragon**, counter-attack!" The dragon released an endless stream of fire, obliterating the harpie. "And of course, you take damage equal to **Cyber Harpie Lady**'s ATK after the battle!"

"Good move," Nephele muttered. (3000 damage - 1000 LP) "But **Harpie Queen** can still attack! Go!" Her second harpie hit **Seadancer**on target, slicing her to ribbons. (1800 damage - 2200 LP) "I'll set a card. Go."

"I don't need much preparation for my turn!" said Ray. "**Raging Dragon** attacks **Harpie Queen**! End the duel!"

"Oh, it's just getting started!" Nephele promised, flipping a card. "**Waboku**sets the Battle Damage to 0."

"All right. Go for it, Demetria."

"Gladly," said Demetria. "Nephele, I think it's time."

"Agreed."

"I activate **Polymerization**!" Demetria declared. Her Amazon broke free of her ice prison and leapt into the air alongside Nephele's **Harpie Queen**.

"What?" Lilith gasped.

"So their decks are based on it after all," Julian muttered to himself.

"The courage of Athena..." said Demetria.

"Joins with the beauty of Aphrodite!" Nephele continued.

"Heaven and Earth become one!" The sisters said simultaneously. "Fusion Summon! **Winged Amazon – Mistress of Earth and Sky**!" An armoured woman appeared in a flash of light. She had the wings and light hair of a harpie, but was tan and muscled like an amazoness. (2800 ATK)

"Cool!" Ray gushed.

"Thank you," said Demetria. "I activate **Winged Amazon**'s effect. By Banishing a Harpie in our Graveyard, I can Special Summon an Amazoness and transfer the effect – or vice-versa. So, I'll banish **Harpie Lady 1** and revive**Amazoness Queen**." The blue-haired woman from the start of the game appeared, wielding her sword more eagerly now that **Winged Amazon** was present. "**Amazoness Queen**now gives all WIND monsters 300 ATK."

"You don't have any," Lilith noted, looking at **Winged Amazon**'s card through a mirror on her disc. "Winged Amazon's EARTH. Oh, wait..."

"That's right," said Nephele. "**Winged Amazon**counts as a WIND Warrior as well as an EARTH Winged-Beast." (2800 - 3100 ATK)

"Dammit!" Ray cursed, having just calculated Amazon's ATK.

"**Winged Amazon** attacks **Solanimus Raging Dragon**!" Demetria ordered. Her creature drew a sword from her back, extended it into a whip-sword and struck the dragon down. (100 damage - 2100 LP)

"My dragon..." Ray said solemnly.

_The ace card of his parents' deck..._ Lilith remembered. She frowned. _Demetria, I won't forgive you for that._

"Hmm..." Demetria muttered. "Lilith's up next, but I'm not really concerned about her stalling right now. So **Amazoness Queen** attacks **Solanimus Magmagician**!" The woman cleaved the wizard in two with a single blow. (500 damage - 2100 LP) "You're up, Lilith."

Lilith drew a card wordlessly, though she clenched the card she drew almost with enough force to bend it. _First you destroy a card precious to Ray. Then you ignore me as a threat?_She looked at her cards and almost laughed. "Demetria, I won't forgive you."

"What? What did I do?" Demetria asked.

"I summon **Sorceress of Lunanima**!" Lilith announced. A woman with blue-black hair appeared, wearing a flowing black robe. (200 ATK)

"Pointless," Demetria chuckled.

"**Sorceress**' effect," said Lilith. "Once per turn, if I control another Lunanima," She gestured towards **Ice Priestess**. "I can return a monster you control to your hand."

"Wait, what?" Demetria cried, as a flurry of snow from the sorceress' staff blew **Winged Amazon**back into the sky with a twinkle. "Our ace card..."

"I'm not done yet," said Lilith. "I play **Crystal Mirror of Lunanima**. This lets me Special Summon a monster with the same name as a Lunanima I control. **Sorceress** number two!" An identical woman appeared, brandishing an identical staff. "She'll return **Amazoness Queen**to your hand!"

As the eyepatched woman was sent spiralling into the air, Ray noted that Lilith was the only one with monsters. _I've taught her well._He said, smiling.

"Battle Phase time. Let me tell you, this is the first Battle Phase I've had in years. **Ice Priestess**, **Sorceresses**! Attack!" The three woman flung ice and criss-crossing streams of water at Demetria. (1900 damage - 0 LP) As the final holograms faded, Lilith exhaled deeply. "That felt good."

"Brilliant duel!" Julian said, clapping. "The two of you supported each other perfectly throughout the whole of it." He turned to the Ambrosia sisters. "The two of you are very worthy opponents."

"Yeah," Ray agreed. He shook Nephele's hand as Lilith took Demetria's. "Let's play again some day."

"Maybe even a tag-team tournament," Nephele suggested. "The two of you are definitely ready."

"Well, we've still got a job to finish first," said Lilith. Demetria passed her the Eldricyte, which Lilith handed to Julian. "One down, four to go."

"Quite right," Julian agreed. As he, Ray and Lilith boarded the _Eternal Eclipse_, he said to the waving sisters, "It's been a pleasure."

"Come back any time!" Nephele called back. "We'll give you a discount on fuel or something."

"Or not," Demetria added. "We still need to eat."

Nephele turned to Demetria, but the ship's door closed and their conversation was cut off. The ship began to rise and finally flew out of sight.

Ray and Lilith watched Skiathos disappear over the railing. "Good job today," Julian said, before going off to presumably wherever in the ship he kept his cards.

"Hey, Ray," Lilith said, after a long silence.. "Er... how did your parents die? Pardon my bluntness."

"Too much past tense I see," Ray said. "Just an accident. Going from one tournament to another, and their airship crashed."

"I see..."

"Something tells me..." Ray put a finger to his forehead. "You want to know why I'm on an airship right now if one killed my parents."

"Y-yeah, actually."

"My parents died doing what they loved. It might've been earlier than they – or I – wanted, but I don't think they had any regrets." He rested his head on the ship's railing. "And they'd want me to focus on the future instead of dwell on the past. I'm going to spend my time doing what I love too."

Lilith thought for a while. Then she said, "You know, you're a lot smarter than I thought."

"Um... thanks?"


	4. Flight 4: The Road of Trials

**Flight 4: The Road of Trials**_  
><em>  
>There was a knock at the door. "Nephele!" Demetria called. "Can you get that? My hands are full."<p>

"Yeah yeah," Nephele said. "Just don't burn supper." She hopped over to the front door. "Ambrosia Sisters," She announced, without opening it. "We're taking a supper break right now, but..."

"The two of you recently entered a tournament, correct?" asked a voice from the other side.

"Yeah," said Nephele.

"And you won a card called **Eldricyte – Basos the Flayer**, correct?"

"Yes, but..." Nephele began. The voice tried to cut her off again, so she opened the door and met it face to face. She didn't expect to be able to see him properly considering how dark it was outside, but the giant silhouette she saw was better than nothing. "We lost the card in a bet earlier today."

"Damn," the man said, hitting the door frame with his fist.

"Sorry about that," Nephele said. "But hey, maybe you can go after the other four..."

"You don't understand," The man said, sighing. "It's imperative that I get all of the Eldricytes. Soon."

"Why?" Demetria asked, putting down what would eventually become supper.

"I'll explain," said the man. "Hopefully my words will convince you to help me claim the Eldricytes..."

-

"Welcome to Athens," said Julian, spreading his arms dramatically. "Population's about 150,000. Compare that to the 4,000-or-so of Skiathos..."

"Well yeah," Lilith said. "Skiathos is like eight kilometres long. Of course Athens is going to have more people."

"Oh, come on. Lighten up," said Ray. "Check out those giant pillars over there!"

"The Temple of Zeus," Julian explained.

Lilith looked around the temple. "Well," She said. "It is pretty impressive what they could do without modern technology.."

"That's the spirit!"

"Though I might just be comparing it to the last things you thought were cool," said Lilith. "Which mostly included things that shot electricity at me."

"How is shooting electricity not cool?" Ray asked.

"Shooting electricity _at me_," Lilith reiterated.

"It's still cool! It doesn't matter where the electricity is shot."

"Actually, that's the most important thing."

"Well, I have good news," said Julian. "The next Eldricyte-holders are another pair of scientists. In fact, one of them used to work with Otto and Fritz."

"Yay!" Ray cried, spreading his arms.

"Aw," Lilith sighed.

"Of course, these two spend more time on theoretical physics than inventing random things that shoot electricity," Julian considered, stroking his moustache.

"Huzzah," said Lilith.

"Aw," Ray sighed.

"Though now that I think about it, she was working on the same nuclear physics as Otto and Fritz... perhaps the things she's working on now are even more dangerous."

"Cool!" Ray said eagerly.

"Aw," Lilith sighed.

"Anyway, what place did they get in that tournament?" Ray asked, as the trio finally began walking.

"Third. Lise and... Leo, I think his name is... they're no push-overs. Please do be careful."

"Careful's boring," said Ray, to which Julian and Lilith sighed. Ray continued, "I'll just beat them before they can do whatever we have to be careful about."

"I'll keep us alive while you do that," Lilith said dully.

"Though attacking is fun, isn't it?" Ray asked. "You really seemed to like it against the Ambrosia sisters."

"Hmph," Lilith crossed her arms indignantly and turned her nose up, though she was clearly smiling as she added, in an exaggerated accent, "Battle Phases are only for barbarians. I prefer a more... sophisticated duel."

"I saw you barbarian...erize Demetria."

"I haven't a clue what you mean," Lilith lied. "Also, the word you're looking for is barbarise."

"Is it? That's an amazing word! I'm going to start using it from now on."

_They sure are getting along better,_ Julian thought, a proud smile on his face. _Looks like my gamble's finally paid off._

-

After a long walk, Ray, Lilith and Julian found an enormous building, which Julian said to be the right place. It was in the shape of a dome and was surrounded by a wrought-iron fence. "Ss-zeye-lard Laboratory," Ray said, reading a sign and mispronouncing 'Szilard'.

"It's Hungarian," said Lilith. "It's pronounced see-ard."

"Yes, Leo Szilard," said Julian. He looked around the gate for some way in. "Do either of you see a lever, or doorbell?" Ray and Lilith shook their heads. "Hmm. I didn't expect them to be this hard to talk to." It was then that the gate opened by itself.

"Neat," said Ray. "No robot butler required." The three of them stepped through the gate. "Do you hear something?"

"Yeah," said Lilith. "Like a gear – " She didn't get to finish her sentence, however, before the ground below them disappeared and was replaced with a giant slide. "Goddamn everythiiiiing!" Lilith screamed.

"This is great!" Ray cried, as the three raced faster and faster down the chute. "Whee!"

"Leo and Lise..." Julian said, his sighing echoing through the slide behind them. "What were they thinking?"

After a few minutes of sliding, Ray landed on a mattress. "That was awesome!" said Ray. "I wanna do it again!" Lilith crashed into him.

"Oww..." Lilith moaned, clutching her head. "That was horrible."

Julian exited a few seconds later, landing neatly in a sitting position on the other side of the mattress. He held a cup of tea and saucer. "Most impressive," He said, taking a sip. "Ooh, and Earl Grey. Exquisite." As he finished his tea, ignoring the confused expressions of Ray and Lilith, a familiar-looking robot rolled into the room.

"Automated Butler Unit ABU-314159 activated," it said. "If you were unaware of the chute that you have just fallen through, I am programmed to assume that you are here to deliver junk mail. This laboratory belongs to Mr. Leo Szilard and his assistant Miss Lise Meitner, and contains over seventy-thousand experiments that can and will explode at the slightest provocation. Therefore, for the safety of anyone within a two mile radius, this security system was installed to prevent unauthorized persons from gaining access to the front door."

"We're not delivery people!" Julian protested. "We – "

A voice rang through the walls. "Julian Nobel and his child soldiers, eh?" asked a haughty female voice. "We've been expecting you. ABU, execute order 265."

"Order 265 initiated," ABU said.

"Oh god it's going to kill us," Lilith said, hiding behind Ray.

"Please follow me," said ABU. "Dr. Szilard and Miss Meitner wish to see you in the third laboratory." Its head turned towards Lilith. "Miss Meitner assures you that it is the safest of all."

"What's wrong?" Ray asked Lilith, walking behind Julian and the robot.

"It's... too human," Lilith muttered.

"I thought you'd like it. It can't shoot electricity." Ray said.

"Actually, this unit can emit shocks of up to 10,000 volts," said ABU. Lilith whimpered and hid behind Ray again.

"See?" She whispered. "It overheard our conversation and had a reply! That's just wrong. It's a robot. It shouldn't have a real brain."

"What about Otto's leg?" Ray asked. "It's a machine controlled by a real brain."

"So much worse," Lilith said solemnly.

"I don't get you sometimes."

And so, they walked behind the robot. After a walk that seemed just as long as the entire trek through Athens, they ended up at a door with a giant wheel. The robot gave it a huge spin and the door sunk into the ground. Behind it was a door with a giant keyhole, similar to Otto and Fritz's. The robot leapt into the air, its bottom half transforming into a key, and it fit itself in the keyhole. That door rose into the ceiling, and the robot landed back on its wheel just as the group noticed a third door. This one had four levers on it. The robot cranked them in a specific pattern, and that door slid to the left.

"Oh my god there's another door!" Ray cried, as the robot released electricity from its hand into a specific spot on the fourth door. There was a fifth door, but it simply had a knob and the robot finally let them enter.

A young woman in a white lab coat waited for them on the other side. Comparing her to Otto and Fritz would likely have been an insult to one of them, for her coat didn't have a speck of dust on it. Her dark hair looked like it would never move out of fear of what the woman would do to it if it refused to be perfect. However, they were greeted by a portly old man in a similarly-spotless lab coat.

"Welcome to our lab, Mr. Nobel," the man said. "I am Leo Szilard." He gestured towards the lady. "And my assistant, Lise Meitner, was the one who spoke to you on the intercom."

"A pleasure," said Lise.

"So you've been expecting us, you said?" Julian inquired.

"A letter from my former colleagues," Lise explained. "Otto and Fritz. Apparently they got their hands on a fake Eldricyte?"

"Indeed they did," said Julian. "Took us a bit off our course, but – "

"Those crazy kids," Leo said, cutting off Julian.

"It was a good fake," Ray piped up. "The right font and..."

"Font?" Lise asked incredulously. "Julian, you haven't told these kids anything, have you?"

"I haven't a clue what you mean," said Julian.

_I think he does,_ Lilith thought. _Even I couldn't tell that Otto and Fritz's Eldricyte was fake, but Julian did it effortlessly. And then, to fly all the way to Greece less than a month after a tournament..._

"You..." Lise said, staring at Lilith and breaking her out of her thoughts. "Lilith Huron, right?"

"Y-yeah," Lilith replied.

"And I'm Ray A-"

"Daughter of Dr. Manfred Clynes Huron?" Lise continued, ignoring Ray. "He was one of the greatest minds since Tesla and Verne. I was shocked to hear about his accident..."

"Suicide," Lilith said fiercely. "He killed himself. It was suicide." Ray and Julian glanced nervously at each other.

"Yes, well..." Leo piped up, after an awkward pause. "When Lise and I heard that name in the British Nationals, we were a bit surprised. I for one figured you'd follow in your parents footsteps. The world could use more scientists."

"So I can devote my life to some nonsense, kill myself, leaving my kid to fend for herself?" Lilith asked. "Oh, she'll have the company of my spouse who's been sent into a spiral of depression, but at least I'll have invented something neat." She put a finger to her chin in mock-though. "Oh wait, I guess the analogy fails there because if Manfred's stupid invention worked, he wouldn't have died."

"Lilith," Ray said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I –"

Lilith exhaled deeply. "Sorry," she said. "I became a duellist because I wanted to. I have no interest in science. Let's leave it at that."

Lise looked hurt, but she shook her head and returned to a stoic expression. "My apologies," She said.

"Let's just get on with this," said Lilith. "I think you know why we're here."

"Yes... well..." said Leo. "Lise and I have been having fun studying our Eldricyte. We're willing to bet it, but," he emphasized the 'but'. "We'll be betting it against yours."

"Word travels fast. You know we have an Eldricyte?" Julian asked.

"We do now," said Lise.

Julian sighed. "Ray, Lilith..."

"We'll win," said Ray. "Don't worry."

_Wasn't he listening when Lise said Julian was hiding something from us? Does he even care about that?_ Lilith asked herself.

"Very well," Julian said. He took a small binder from the breast pocket of his jacket and showed Lise and Leo the first and only card in it – **Basos the Flayer**. "My Eldricyte against yours."

"Ours is **Monos the Swallower**," said Leo, showing a cased card to the trio. "I think we both know each other's Eldricyte is real. We can begin the duel at any time." Both he and Lise activated duel discs.

"Ready when you are," said Ray, switching on his own.

"Y-yeah," said Lilith. _I need to concentrate._ She exhaled deeply again and pushed all thoughts of her father from her mind.

"Duel!" They all said simultaneously.

Lilith made the first move. "I set one monster and one backrow," She said. "Your turn." _I wish we knew what decks these guys used. It's stupid to not do any research before this sort of thing._

"I'll go, then," Lise decided. "I summon **T.G. Catapult Dragon**!" There appeared a hideously-ugly bionic reptile. "I'll use its effect, Special Summoning a Level 3 or lower T.G. Tuner from my hand. Appear, **T.G. Jet Falcon**!" The dragon loaded its catapult with a bird, launching it onto the field. "Now, I tune my **Jet Falcon** with my **Catapult Dragon**." The two monsters flew into the air.

"A Synchro this early?" Ray asked. "These T.G.s..."

"Synchro Summon! **T.G. Wonder Magician**!" In a flash of light, there appeared a pink-haired witch with bionic wings. (1900 ATK) "**Wonder Magician**'s effect," Lise announced. "It destroys a Spell or Trap you control." The little witch snapped her fingers; Lilith's facedown **Moonlight Veil** exploded. "I'll set one card. End turn!"

"Ray!" Lilith cried. "Destroy that thing. We can't let it last 'til Leo's turn!"

"What? Why not?"

"It's a Tuner!" Lilith said. "It'll Synchro Summon something even bigger."

"Sounds like fun," Ray said, drawing. "But I trust you. **Wonder Magician** won't last the turn, I promise. I summon **Solanimus Magmagician**!" Ray's own spellcaster appeared; the red warlock with the hardened-lava staff. (1900 ATK) "By discarding **Solanimus Blinding Blade**, I can draw a card. Next, I activate **Solanimus Soul Storm**!" The wizard clutched near his heart; he pulled a fi****l of fire out of his own body. "If you control a monster with less DEF than the ATK of a Solanimus I control, I can destroy that monster!" The wizard finally threw the fireball at **Wonder Magician**, who was instantly incinerated. "Also, you take damage equal to the difference. **Wonder Magician**'s DEF was 0, so that's the full 1900 ATK of Magmagician to you!" Lise didn't flinch as the fires that were once her monster washed over her. (1900 damage - 6100 LP)

"Great!" Lilith said. "You even dealt some damage."

"Lilith, just point me at something you want barbarised and I'll barbarise it," Ray said. "That's how I roll. End turn."

"I was pretty impressed," Leo admitted. "But I'm afraid it won't be enough. I Special Summon **T.G. Striker**!" A man in strange, blue armour appeared. "And I'll follow it up by Normal Summoning **T.G. Warwolf**." Beside the odd soldier appeared a humanoid beast with machine parts sticking out at random. "Now! I tune **Striker** and **Warwolf**. Synchro Summon; **T.G. Hyper Librarian**!" In a flash of light, a man in a ghost-white cloak appeared, reading something from a book. (2400 ATK) "Now, what kind of deck did you say the girl played?"

"Lunanima," Lise replied.

"Hmm. Then I'll attack your set monster!" The librarian tossed a bolt of energy at the card back on Lilith's field. It flipped to reveal the black robe of **Sorceress of Lunanima**, who was then destroyed. "Ah, good thing I did that."

"Agreed," said Lise. "I activate **TG-SX1**!" She flipped up a Trap. "When a T.G. monster we control destroys a monster by battle, this Special Summons a T.G. Synchro from my Graveyard. Be reborn, **T.G. Wonder Magician**!" The pink-haired witch reappeared, taking a stance.

"Wait, isn't that bad?" Ray asked. Lilith nodded.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," said Leo. "I set one card. End turn."

"My turn," said Lilith hesitantly. "I play **One for One**. I'll discard **Wilting Lotus of Lunanima** and Special Summon another from my deck," She pointed at the ground, from which sprouted an already-dying flower. (0 DEF) "Now, I'll activate **Wilting Lotus**' effect. I banish a Lunanima in my Graveyard to Special Summon it." An image of **Sorceress** crumpled as a second **Wilting Lotus** sprouted from the floor. "While I control two **Wilting Lotuses**, you can't attack any of our monsters."

"And thus the defence is secure," said Ray. "Leave the offence to me."

"I'll back you up there, too. I activate **Spiritual Portal of Lunanima**; now, I Special Summon a banished Lunanima." The black-robed witch reappeared on the field. "Her effect returns a monster you control to your hand." She pointed at **T.G. Wonder Magician**. "Though, to be honest, I already know how – "

"Accel Synchro!" Lise declared. **Wonder Magician** and **Hyper Librarian** flew into the air. She continued, "Warrior of the future whose armaments are limited only by imagination, reveal to us the wonders of science! Accel Synchro!" A giant green-and-orange humanoid appeared in a flash of light, holding a gun with a blade made of light. (3300 ATK) "**T.G. Blade Blaster**!"

"That's what we're up against," said Lilith. "I just thought I'd show you."

"Got it," said Ray. "3300 ATK... I can't wait."

"My turn," said Lise. "I summon **T.G. Rush Rhino**," There appeared an armoured, humanoid rhinoceros; it let out a roar that Lilith figured real rhinos didn't make. (1600 ATK) "And I can't attack, so I'll just set a card and end my turn."

Ray drew a card. Then, he looked at it ecstatically. "Lilith! I drew it! I drew it!"

"It? Do you mean..." Lilith rubbed her forehead. "Not the time. Draw **Lightning Vortex** or something."

"This is so much cooler, though!" Ray said. "I'll set it – " A card back appeared in his S/T zone, but it exploded instantly.

"**TGX1-HL**," Lise explained. "I halve the ATK of a T.G. Monster, and then I destroy a Spell or Trap card." She pointed lazily at Rush Rhino. (800 ATK)

"What?" Ray cried. "I wanted to... oh I am angry now! I summon **Solanimus Burning Snake**!" Ray's red-cloaked wizard was joined with a serpent made of cooled lava. (1800 ATK) "**Magmagician** attacks that jerk of a rhino!"

"Chain," said Lise. "**TG1-EM1**. This switches control of my rhino with your..." She looked around the field. "**Wilting Lotus of Lunanima**."

"What?" Lilith demanded, as the plant burrowed back underground, sprouted on her side of the field and the rhino leapt over to her. "Dammit..."

"Like that'll stop me!" Ray said. "**Burning Snake** gives all Solanimus monsters piercing. So I'll just attack that **Lotus**! **Magmagician**, go!" The wizard threw a stream of fire, incinerating the plant. (1900 damage - 4200 LP) "Ha ha! Your turn."

"For my turn," said Leo. "I'll summon **T.G. Cyber Magician**." A younger, tiny version of Wonder Magician appeared, and then immediately jumped into the sky. "I can tune it with T.G. monsters in my hand. So I'll tune it with this **T.G. Rush Rhino** of my own. Synchro Summon! **T.G. Power Gladiator**." A warrior holding a giant axe landed oddly gracefully. (2300 ATK) "You pierced our lotus, so I'll return the favour. **Power Gladiator** attacks." The warrior raced across the field at the remaining flower, cleaving its stem in half. (2300 damage - 5700 LP)

_Dammit!_ Lilith thought. _I can't keep any sort of defence. Am I even helping?_

"I'll set one card. Then it's your turn," said Leo.

_I'm not sure if Ray can actually get rid of **Blade Blaster**,_ Lilith eyed up the giant. _Not that he seems too worried about it... actually, he doesn't seem worried about it at all._ She glanced at his face, he had had the same determined grin since the game began. _Still... I'll try to get rid of it._ "I summon **Mist Shaman of Lunanima**!" A blonde woman with talons instead of hands appeared; she wore a tight black bodysuit and, for some reason, a blindfold with a picture of a crescent moon on it. (1200 ATK) "And now that I control another Lunanima, I can activate **Sorceress**' effect to..."

"I activate **Fiendish Chain**," said Lise. "Negating Sorceress' effect." Chains burst from the ground, ensnaring the Sorceress.

_Figured,_ Lilith almost shrugged. _No sense summoning a boss monster without a way to negate Sorceress._ "I'll activate **Mist Shaman**'s effect, returning it back to my hand. End turn."

_Back to her hand?_ Ray thought. _Wasn't it also Level 3? I thought she could Xyz..._

"My turn then," said Lise. "That **Rhino** will give us a free monster. I attack with **Blade Blaster**!" Her bionic warrior readied its gun.

"I activate the other effect of **Mist Shaman**," Lilith announced. The partially-avian woman appeared again, this time in a cloud of fog. "I can Special Summon it in Attack Position during your Battle Phase. When it's Special Summoned by this effect, you can't attack other monsters."

"All right then. I'll attack **Mist Shaman**." Blade Blaster shot beams from its weapon, which penetrated the fog. (1100 damage - 4200 LP)

"It's also not destroyed by battle this turn," Lilith continued.

"A waste of time, considering you just summoned it," Lise scoffed. "I'll set a card, then."

"Don't call Lilith's card a waste of time!" Ray cried. "My turn. I summon **Solanimus Shining Star**!" The star-bright humanoid appeared, but wasted no time before becoming green rings. "I tune it with **Burning Snake**. Master of destruction, burn down everything in your path! Synchro Summon! **Solanimus Raging Dragon**!" The Synchro rings exploded in a blast of fire; Ray's trademark orange dragon slowly descended upon the field, letting out a roar. (3000 ATK) "And **Burning Snake** returns due to **Shining Star**'s effect."

"You do realize that **Raging Dragon** forcing everything into attack position is bad right now, don't you?" Lise asked, looking over Lilith's **[color="Orange"]Sorceress** and **Mist Shaman**, as well as Ray's **Magmagician** and**Snake**. "All of your monsters are weak compared to Blade Blaster, so this is a bad situation you've put yourself in."

"I think it's worse for you. **Raging Dragon** attacks **Power Gladiator**!" Ray pointed at the axe-wielder; an enormous jet of flame obliterated it. "And you take damage equal to its ATK, so that's a total of 3000." (3000 damage - 3100 LP)

_Amazing,_ Lilith considered. _Even when I can't defend, he can keep on attacking._

"I end my turn!" Ray said triumphantly.

"Before you do, I play **Call of the Haunted**," said Leo. Power Gladiator returned to the field.

_Weird,_ Lilith said to herself. _Why pick Gladiator over Librarian? Unless..._

"For my turn," said Leo. "I activate **TGSX-Minus**." A giant tube appeared in the sky, sucking **Gladiator** into a hovering, colourful machine. "This returns a T.G. Synchro monster to the Extra Deck, and then lets me Special Summon another Synchro, with a lower level. Appear! **T.G. Recipro Dragonfly**!" From another tube in the odd contraption flew a mechanical dragonfly with helicopter blades instead of wings. (300 ATK)

"Aw, it's cute," said Ray. "I love dragonflies. Wait..." He stopped, as the dragonfly flew into **Blade Blaster**, cutting it in half with its helicopter-wings.

"The effect of **Recipro Dragonfly**," Leo explained. "I return Blade Blaster to the Extra Deck and summon its Synchro Materials." **Wonder Magician** and **Hyper Librarian** appeared back on the field.

_Dammit, I was right!_ Lilith's eyes widened. _We... we're screwed..._

"I tune all of my monsters!" Leo exclaimed, as the dragonfly, magician and librarian flew into the sky. "Ultimate knight of science and wonder, who wields imagination as a weapon, reveal to us the truth of science! Delta Accel Synchro!" An image of the sun appeared on the ceiling, for no other reason than to explode in a beautifully-rendered supernova. "**T.G. Halberd Cannon**!" When Ray and Lilith uncovered their eyes from the supernova, they saw a giant, metal warrior holding a spear as long as the giant was tall. (4000 ATK)

"I like it," said Ray, still grinning eagerly. "Bring it on."

"Gladly," said Leo. "I attack **T.G. Rush Rhino**!" **Halberd Cannon** shot a beam of light from the tip of its staff, obliterating the humanoid rhino that Ray and Lilith had been given. (3200 damage - 2500 LP) "I'll end my turn. Now, during my End Phase, **Rush Rhino**'s effect lets me add a T.G. monster from my deck to my hand... I guess I'll pick **Warwolf**."

"My turn..." said Lilith. _Ray's still confident. In that case, I have to do something too. In fact..._ "I summon another **Sorceress of Lunanima**." A twin black-robed woman appeared, but burst into flames as soon as she touched the field.

"**Halberd Cannon** negates one Summon per turn and destroys that monster," said Leo.

"I know. She was bait," Lilith said. "So you wouldn't negate this. I overlay my **Mist Shaman** with **Sorceress of Lunanima**." Both women jumped into a galaxy that formed on the floor. "Goddess of strategy, cast the world into your eternal game. Xyz Summon, **Chessmistress of Lunanima**." A woman in a throne rose from the galaxy, followed quickly by an ornate chessboard full of pieces. She wore the same kind of royal, dark dress that Ray had seen on **Gravity Queen**. (1500 ATK)

"Well, that's one way to get rid of **Fiendish Chain**," Lise said, shrugging.

"I activate **Chessmistress**' effect," Lilith announced, as her monster moved a couple pieces around her chessboard. "I detach one Xyz Material to set a Normal Trap in our Graveyard back onto the field."

"A Normal Trap?" Ray thought back. "You have a **Moonlight Veil** in there, don't you?"

"Yes, but I'm not picking it," said Lilith. "You have a Normal Trap in your Graveyard too." Her disc ejected a card which Lilith snatched and tossed across the room to Ray. "I can't possibly defend us now. It's up to your offence. I'm entrusting this game to you."

Ray looked at the card and smiled. "You got it." He placed it in his disc.

"Did you see what that card was?" Lise asked.

"No, but you destroyed something with **TGX1-HL**," Leo replied. "Was that it?"

"Scientists who won't even look to see what they've done?" Lilith enquired, crossing her arms. "That'll be your downfall. End turn."

"My turn," said Lise. "I activate **Pot of Duality**." Three cards' holograms appeared – **Mirror Force**, **Call of the Haunted** and **Solemn Warning**. "Well, I was hoping for a monster, but I'll take that **Mirror Force**. With that, I'll set two cards. A shame **Halberd Cannon** is Leo's monster..."

"During your End Phase, I'll use my new set card!" Ray announced. "Almighty overlord of destruction, everything in your path will be annihilated by fires of fury!" He grabbed the card and held it in the air. "**Assault Mode Activate**!" The air around Raging Dragon burned, causing blue-orange armour to appear from nowhere. It connected to its wrists, shoulders and wings; then its horns grew and curved. "I Special Summon **Solanimus Raging Dragon/Assault Mode**!" (3500 ATK)

"Negate it, Leo!" Lise ordered.

"He can't," Lilith protested. "Halberd Cannon can only negate inherent Special Summons – not ones by an effect like this."

"I activate **Raging Dragon/Assault Mode's effect**," said Ray. "When it's Special Summoned, I can destroy two cards on the field. I choose... Lise's two set cards." His dragon swung its massive tail against Lise's cards;**Mirror Force** and **Solemn Warning** exploded.

"And you didn't pick **Halberd Cannon because**...?" Lise asked.

"Because I always had a plan for **Halberd Cannon**," said Ray, drawing a card. "I just needed **Raging Dragon** in my Graveyard. I banish my **Raging Dragon** to activate **Solanimus Battle Aura**, and equip it to my**Magmagician**! This card gives a Level 4 or lower monster I control ATK equal to the ATK of the banished Solanimus monster." He pointed to **Solanimus Magmagician**, who was now surrounded by a fiery image of the original Raging Dragon. (4900 ATK)

Leo shook his head. "Amazing," He said.

"**Solanimus Magmagician** attacks **Halberd Cannon**!" Ray announced. The burning aura left **Magmagician**, flying into and through the giant robot. (900 damage - 2200 LP)

"When **Halberd Cannon** is destroyed, I can Special Summon a T.G. Synchro from our Graveyard," said Leo. "Be reborn, **T.G. Blade Blaster**!" (2200 DEF)

"I know. **Raging Dragon/Assault Mode** attacks **Blade Blaster**!" A tidal wave of fire flew over Leo's entire field; the floor kept burning even after the wave rushed by, leaving no trace of **Blade Blaster**. "And now, just like the original, **Raging Dragon/Assault Mode** hits you with damage equal to the ATK of the destroyed monster!" (3300 damage - 0 LP) Finally, the holograms faded.

"Nice job," said Lilith, offering Ray a thumbs-up.

"Couldn't have done it without you," Ray replied.

_Well, that's a lie._ Lilith thought. _All he really needed was **Raging Dragon** in the Graveyard._ "Thanks," She said nonetheless.

"Damn," Lise sighed, handing her Eldricyte to Julian. "I really wanted to study the others."

"I haven't a clue what you mean," said Julian monotonously. "But thank you for a good duel. Ray and Lilith, good work."

"That was a pretty great duel, wasn't it?" Ray said to no one in particular. He looked around the lab. "We took a slide here, so how do we get back out?"

"ABU!" Leo called. A cube dropped out of the wall and unfolded into their automated butler. "He'll show you out."

As the trio plus one robot turned to leave, Lise said, "Lilith... wait."

"What is it?" Lilith turned around; Ray and Julian went ahead after the robot.

"I didn't know how your father died. I'm sorry. I understand why you have no interest in becoming a scientist, but... please don't reject science completely. For each bad thing it's caused, there are dozens of good things."

Lilith looked lost in thought for a moment. Then she said, "Goodbye, Ms. Meitner," and chased after Julian and Ray.


	5. Flight 5: Confrontation

**Flight 5: Confrontation**_  
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"And this is where my butler said our next stop should be," Julian announced, spreading his arms wide. "The Athens Airship Recycling Centre."

"We know," said Lilith. "We can read the sign."

"Inside here are the fourth-placed Eldricyte-owners," Ray said gleefully. "Once we beat them, that's three out of five."

"I know," said Lilith. "I was there for the other two."

"I wonder if those players are as... eccentric as the rumours say," Julian commented thoughtfully.

"Rumours?" Lilith asked. "If there are rumours about these guys, why did it take us all day to hear about them?"

"I knew they existed and that they'd entered the tournament, but I hadn't heard that they actually won an Eldricyte," Julian explained. "Still, good thing we didn't already leave Athens."

"All right, enough exposition," Lilith pushed open the wrought-iron fence. They entered a labyrinth of discarded vehicle parts – deflated balloons, spine-like wooden frames, bits and pieces of metal that Ray and Lilith could only assume had something to do with airships, even broken wings of orinothopters littered the ground.

"I can't believe all this stuff goes to waste," Ray said, running up a huge pile of debris. "Look, this thing's beeping!" He pulled a box with a screen out of the pile. "I think it's a radar."

"It's an electric telegraph," said Julian. "It's beeping morse code – or it would, if it weren't broken. Right now it's beeping a sequence of A's."

"Does that mean it's screaming?" Ray asked, turning the box in his hand and staring horrified at it. "What a horrible fate." Then he shrugged and chucked it over his shoulder. "Oh hey, a duel disc."

"Any good cards in it?" Lilith asked.

"**Sleeping Giant Thud**," Ray called back, shrugging. "So, no."

"Fools!" said a voice from the surrounding piles of trash.

"Every card has its worth!" A female voice agreed.

"Who are you?" Ray demanded. "Where are you?"

"Allow us to introduce ourselves..." came the male voice. There was a flash of red as a man erupted from the pile of trash next to Lilith. He was wearing what looked like black spandex covered in random bits of metal. He wore a domino mask with gears around his eyes and a bright red cape. "I am... Scrapman!"

"And I..." said the female voice, as a blue blur somersaulted out of the garbage next to Julian. "Am Junkgirl!" She was wearing a similar outfit, gear-mask and all, but with a blue cape.

"When the sun sets and the crimes of night befall Athens," Scrapman said.

"It is we who punish evildoers! It is we who deliver justice!" Junkgirl continued.

"We are the axle that spin the gears of truth!"

"We are the engine that roars against tyranny!"

"Athens' Number 1 crime-fighters!" Scrapman and Junkgirl shouted in unison. "The duellists of detritus! The warriors of waste! The rebels of refuse who will never refuse a cry for help!" They stood beside each other and pointed their arms out like a V. "When you hear of the mighty Scrapman and Junkgirl, it is us of whom they speak!"

No one spoke for a few minutes, but the caw of a crow kept the awkwardness from being an awkward silence.

Finally, Ray had enough of quietness. "No one else is going to say it?" He looked to Julian and Lilith, who shook their heads. "It has to be me?" They nodded. "Okay." He looked down at the trash below his feet. Suddenly, he cried, "That was amazing!"

"What," Lilith and Julian said.

"That was the coolest introduction I've ever heard!" Ray continued gushing. "Most of the other Eldricyte-owners were trying to teach us nuclear physics, but you... you guys get right into it! And you're superheroes! Duelling superheroes!" He grabbed a filthy piece of paper from the mountain he was standing on. "Can I have your autographs?"

"You already have our autographs," Scrapman said, leaping atop the trash pile in a single bound. He put his hand on Ray's heart. "You have our autographs in here."

"Whoa," Ray said.

"What," Lilith and Julian reiterated.

"Julian, I don't want to take these guys' Eldricyte," Ray said. "They're too cool. And what if they need it for crime-fighting?"

"Ray, the Eldricytes are unplayable," Julian said.

"The Eldricyte is nothing more than a symbol," Junkgirl said. "A symbol of our triumph over amazing adversity. A triumph of hard work over the materialism and greed of our competition!"

"I thought you came in fourth," said Lilith.

"It was a _moral_victory," Scrapman snapped. "Also, the prize money was able to fund another few years' worth of crime-fighting. But more importantly, the names Scrapman and Junkgirl are known throughout the world!"

Junkgirl swung her arm through the air. "All criminals will know us and fear us. Our plan was not to win the tournament – it was to threaten evildoers."

"What about criminals who aren't in Athens?" Lilith asked.

"We have also inspired people around the world!" Junkgirl continued. "People will learn that they too can stand up against what is evil. Soon, you will hear about other heroes fighting for what they believe in."

"At any rate, you don't need your Eldricyte, right?" Julian asked.

"No," said Scrapman. "But! Do not think we will give it away or trade it!"

"Our pride as knights of justice will not allow us to part with our trophy until we are defeated!" Junkgirl dug through a pile of trash, retrieved a couple duel discs and tossed one to Scrapman.

"Let me show you what I'm willing to bet," Julian said, opening his binder.

"**Stardust Divinity**! A card truly representing our roles as heroes," Junkgirl decided.

"Come on, Ray," said Lilith, as Ray slid down the trash pile on an airship door. "Sorry to force you to fight your heroes."

"I know!" said Ray, as he switched on his disc. "We have a job to do. And I also wouldn't dishonour these noble warriors by going easy on them."

"That's the spirit!" said Scrapman. "Come at us with everything you have!"

"Duel!" The four duellists cried together, though Lilith was entirely drowned out by the loud voices of the others.

Lilith began the game, as determined by a coin toss. "I set one monster... and one backrow. End turn." Two card back holograms appeared before her.

_No face-up Lunanima... probably means no **Moonlight Veil**,_ Ray noticed. _So I guess I have to be careful._ He glanced at his hand. _Luckily I can do that with this hand._

"I shall begin for our turn!" Junkgirl announced. "I activate the Spell **Reinforcements of the Army**. I'll search out my ace monster – **Junk Synchron**!"

_Junkgirl and Scrapman actually play Junk and Scraps?_ Lilith sighed. _I guess I should've seen it coming._

"When only you control monsters, this card can be Special Summoned from my hand. **Junk Forward**, appear!" From one of the trash piles burst a robot, who ran onto the field. "Now, I summon **Junk Synchron**!" Junkgirl continued. An orange, mechanical man hopped onto the field.

"What a waste," Lilith muttered.

"A waste, you said?" Junkgirl demanded. "Living here in a dump, you realize just how much people waste. Scrapman and I have sworn to find treasure in what other people throw away. We will never put anything to waste. Though I may not get **Junk Synchron**'s effect, I've done what I needed to. I tune Level 3 **Junk Synchron** and Level 3 **Junk Forward**!" The two machines leapt into the air, Forward entering the rings created by Synchron. "Synchro Summon! The shield of truth, **Junk Gardna**!" A giant green robot descended from a flash of light; giant wrist-guards shielding its entire body. (2600 DEF)

"Then I'm up," said Ray. "I summon **Solanimus Magmagician**!" The red wizard appeared in a flash of fire, spinning its lava-staff. (1900 ATK) "Now, by discarding a Solanimus, I can draw one card. Goodbye, **Fireraptor**. Next, I activate **Solanimus Battle Aura**! I banish the **Fireraptor**in my Graveyard and Magmagician gains its ATK!" An intense flame surrounded the wizard, taking the form of the discarded dinosaur. (3100 ATK)

"Fool!" Junkgirl countered. "I activate **Junk Gardna**'s effect – **Solanimus Magmagician**is changed to Defence Position." Ray's wizard covered its face with its arms and staff. (200 DEF)

"Then... I'll set one card," Ray said, shaken. "And end my turn."

"My turn, then!" Scrapman declared. "I summon **Scrap Beast**!" A small pile of rubbish rolled down one of the giant mountains of debris. Wires shot out from one piece, connecting everything into a creature resembling a sabre-toothed tiger. (1600 ATK) "Battle! **Scrap Beast** attacks **Solanimus Magmagician**!"

"I activate my Trap!" Ray said. "**Solanimus Fire Stream**. When a Solanimus is attacked, it destroys the attacking monster and inflicts damage to you equal to the attack target. That's 3100 damage going straight to you!"

"From my hand, I chain **Scrapstorm**!" Scrapman cried. "I select a Scrap monster I control. Then, I sent a Scrap monster from my deck to the Graveyard and draw one card. I'll mill **Scrap Chimera**. Finally..." He pointed at his monster, which exploded into bits of metal and gears. "**Scrap Beast** is destroyed, which fizzles your **Fire Steam**!"

"Dammit..." Ray muttered, chucking his Trap to the Graveyard.

"And finally, when **Scrap Beast** is destroyed, I can add a Scrap in my Graveyard to my hand. I'll reclaim **Scrap Chimera**!" Scrapman said triumphantly, as a card slid out of his Graveyard slot. "It is your turn, fair maiden!"

"Fair maiden?" Lilith repeated. _That **Junk Gardna**'s going to cause Ray problems, but they're playing very defensively – which works great for me._ "I flip summon **Potion-Brewer of Lunanima**!" Lilith's set monster revealed itself – a blue-haired girl with a pointed hat decorated with what looked like fins. (1000 ATK) "And I activate its Flip effect – adding one Lunanima monster from my deck to my hand. I'll pick **Stargazer of Lunanima**."

"So, that's what we're doing this game, huh?" Ray asked, smiling.

"That's right. I discard **Stargazer of Lunanima** to add **Lunar Impact** to my hand. Next, I'll play it." The sky, which was already starting to get dark naturally, became pitch-black except for a bright full moon directly above the superheroes. "And let's get some Moon Counters going. I summon **Voodoo Princess of Lunanima**!" A young, dark-skinned woman appeared; she wore a tattered robe, a necklace of claws and held a staff with a skull on the end. (1000 ATK) "When this card is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Lunanima from my Graveyard. **Voodoo Princess** – reanimate **Stargazer**!" A rope appeared in the woman's hands; she used it to drag a blue-skinned Stargazer from the soil. Her telescope lens was broken and her lips were sewn shut. (1800 DEF)

"That's... pretty creepy," Ray noted.

"It's not my fault bringing people back from the dead makes them zombies," Lilith protested. "Is this better? I'll Overlay my Level 4 **Potion-Brewer**, **Voodoo Princess** and **Stargazer**. Goddess of night, cast the world into eternal shadow! Xyz Summon; **Gravity Queen of Lunanima**!" A card familiar to Ray appeared; the woman in dark, royal robes with the crescent moon sceptre. (2500 DEF)

"Before you go any further, **Junk Gardna**'s effect activates!" Junkgirl announced. "I'll switch your **Gravity Queen**into Attack Position." (1500 ATK)

"Fine, fine," Lilith shook her head. "But I'm still using her effect!" One of the lights flying around **Gravity Queen** was absorbed into her staff. Lilith pointed at the moon as it lurched closer. "I just added a Moon Counter to**Lunar Impact**. When it has 7, we win."

"Suffering scrapheaps!" Scrapman cried.

"Jolly junkyards!" Junkgirl agreed.

"Lilith, we need catchphrases," said Ray, entirely seriously.

"I am setting a card," Lilith said through grit teeth. "And it is now Junkgirl's turn."

"Then my turn it is!" Junkgirl repeated. "I activate **Tuning**. Now, I add a **Junk Synchron** from my deck to my hand!" After doing so, she flipped a card from her deck to the Graveyard slot. "Lucky me! **Quillbolt Hedgehog** was the card I milled. Now I summon **Junk Synchron**!" A clone of her ace appeared. (1300 ATK) "By its effect, I can revive **Quillbolt Hedgehog**." An orange furball with screws coming out of it appeared (800 ATK). "And when a monster is Special Summoned from my Graveyard, this card can be Special Summoned from my hand. **Doppelwarrior**!" A man in black holding what looked like a crossbow appeared as well. (900 ATK)

_I was wrong!_ Lilith thought worriedly. _These guys aren't defensive - they're both just balanced!_

"You might be proud of your new Xyz Summoning, but I prefer to stick with the old classics! I tune **Junk Synchron** with **Doppelwarrior** and **Quillbolt Hedgehog**!" Junkgirl announced. "Synchro Summon! The arrow of justice,**Junk Archer**!" A cycloptic robot appeared, drawing a glowing arrow on a fancy bow. (2300 ATK)

"Two Synchros this early!" Ray said, grinning. "This is great!"

"There's more! Behold my two **Doppel Tokens**!" Two clones of **Doppelwarrior** appeared, readying their weapons. (800 ATK) "Now! **Junk Archer**'s effect Banishes your Gravity Queen until the End Phase!" Junkgirl explained, as her monster fired an arrow. Gravity Queen was hit straight in the chest and fell into a hole suspended in the sky. "And that will get rid of its Xyz Materials. So now, the coast is clear. I switch **Junk Gardna** to attack mode. Battle!**Junk Gardna** attacks **Solanimus Magmagician**!" The robot rolled across the field and unceremoniously pummelled Ray's wizard to death. "Now! **Junk Archer** and my two **Doppel Tokens**attack directly!"

"Sorry, Ray," Lilith said solemnly, as **Junk Archer**'s laser-arrow flew through her. (2300 damage - 5700 LP)

"It's not your fault," Ray replied, as the **Doppel Tokens**' bullets struck him. (800 damage - 4900 LP)

"I end my turn!" said Junkgirl. "And **Gravity Queen**returns!"

"But no Materials, yeah, I know," Lilith muttered.

"Enough is enough!" Ray cried, drawing a card. "I have had it with that goddamned **Junk Gardna** on this goddamn field! Ah, this'll work. I play **Solanimus Dimensional Tear**!" Two clawed hands appeared in the sky and tore a hole in reality. "This Special Summons a Banished Solanimus! Welcome back, **Fireraptor**!" The dinosaur finally ripped a gash big enough to jump through, and landed on the field with a screechy roar. "Oh, and **Solanimus Dimensional Tear** is a Solanimus card, of course. That triggers **Fireraptor**'s effect!" Ray pointed towards **Junk Gardna**. "I destroy one of your cards." The dinosaur raced across the field madly, tearing the robot to shreds. It began feasting on the now-exposed circuitry and the fire on its back blazed brighter. "**Fireraptor**also gains 500 ATK!" (2700 ATK)

"Impressive!" Junkgirl admitted. "But when **Junk Gardna** is destroyed, one of your monsters' Battle Positions is changed." She pointed just as dramatically at **Fireraptor**, who crouched. (300 DEF)

"You've never seen me duel, have you?" Ray asked. "Lilith knows what's coming."

_Obviously,_Lilith agreed mentally.

"I summon **Solanimus Vicious Hatchling**!" There appeared an egg, from which a young Chinese dragon crawled. "All you need to know is that it's a Tuner. Now!" His two reptiles flew into the air; the dinosaur entering rings created by the little dragon. "Master of destruction, burn down everything in your path! Synchro Summon! **Solanimus Raging Dragon**!" An explosion lit the artificially-night sky, but the only sound was the roar of the dragon that appeared. "And now, because of Hatchling's effect, it gains the 2200 ATK of Fireraptor!" It flapped its wings, sending a shockwave through the air. (3000 ATK - 5200 ATK)

"Most impressive!" Scrapman said.

"Well thanks. But flattery won't get you any life points! **Raging Dragon** attacks **Junk Archer**!" A spiralling jet of flame struck the robotic bowman, piercing straight through it. It sparked for a second before exploding. (2900 damage - 5100 LP) "And of course, Raging Dragon barbarises you with damage equal to the ATK of the destroyed monster!" The explosion continued, covering both opponents. (2300 damage - 2800 LP)

"Nice one," Lilith said with a thumbs-up. "That combo's awesome every time." _Did he seriously say 'barbarise' again?_

"You know it!" Ray said. "End turn!" **Raging Dragon**'s flames cooled down a little, and it shrunk back to its normal size. (3000 ATK)

"Again, most impressive!" Scrapman said. "However, your dragon has a few weaknesses – unlike mine. I summon **Scrap Chimera**!" Random bits of machinery flew from every trash pile in sight, configuring into a winged lion with a snake for a tail. (1700 ATK)

"That's not a dragon," Ray protested.

"I'm not done yet!" Scrapman retorted. "**Scrap Chimera** Special Summons **Scrap Beast** from my Graveyard!" The chimera roared; the pieces of garbage that formed the tiger once formed it again. (1600 ATK) "And now, I tune **Scrap Beast** and **Scrap Chimera**. Synchro Summon! **Scrap Dragon**!" Each bit of machinery turned separately into green lights, flying through or becoming rings as appropriate. Finally, an enormous dragon made entirely of scrap metal descended onto the field. It let out a burst of steam from its jaws. (2800 ATK)

"That's a dragon," Ray accepted. "But it's weaker than mine."

"Fool!" Scrapman snapped. "I activate **Scrap Dragon**'s effect! I destroy one of our **Doppel Tokens** and then one of your cards. Goodbye, **Raging Dragon**!" The mechanical dragon roared; one of Junkgirl's minions exploded. Bits of machinery flew from all the surrounding piles; wrapping around Raging Dragon's limbs and body before suddenly exploding.

"Raging... Dragon..." Ray muttered, clenching his fists. "I won't forgive you!"

"Such vengeance! You would not make a good superhero! **Scrap Dragon**, attack **Gravity Queen**!" The dragon released a stream of not fire, but flying bits of metal and other detritus. It flew towards **Gravity Queen**, but struck and shattered a ghostly face.

"By discarding **Snowflake Ghost of Lunanima**, the attack is negated," Lilith explained. "And I revive **Potion-Brewer of Lunanima**!" Her cauldron-mixing witch reappeared on the field. (1800 DEF)

"Now that, young Ray, is how you protect what's important to you!" Scrapman said. "If you care about something, it's your responsibility to keep it safe. Remember that!"

"I don't need a lecture from the guy who destroyed my dragon!" Ray roared.

"Ray, calm down," Lilith scolded. She drew a card. "I'm sure that deck of yours can bring it back. But..." She smiled. "Try and keep up. I activate **Crystal Mirror of Lunanima**!" She snapped her fingers, and a second **Potion-Brewer** appeared on the field. "Now, I overlay my two **Potion-Brewers**. Goddess of the frozen wasteland, cast the world into eternal winter!" As her monsters hopped into a galaxy, it began to snow; most of the flakes connected in mid-air like a constellation, finally forming a pale, white-clothed woman. "Xyz Summon! **Ice Priestess of Lunanima**!" (2500 DEF)

"Wait, you're - " Ray began.

"First, I activate Ice Priestess' effect," Lilith snapped her fingers again; one of the lights around Ice Priestess disappeared, and all of **Scrap Dragon**'s joints froze solid, followed by an ice cube forming around the entire dragon. "Now, **Scrap Dragon**'s effect is negated, and it can't attack. It also can't be Synchroed with."

"Suffering scrapheaps!" Scrapman cried.

"But I'm not done yet," Lilith said. "The moon needs to come closer. And now, I have only one way to do that. I overlay my Rank 4 **Ice Priestess of Lunanima** and **Gravity Queen of Lunanima**!" A galaxy appeared on the ground, swirling briefly before each spoke erupted across the entire junkyard. The two woman were absorbed into it, and it became a whirling black hole.

"What is this?" Junkgirl demanded.

"An Xyz Summon beyond Xyz Summon?" Scrapman wondered in awe.

"Goddess of magic, to whom the moon is but a puppet! Cast the world into an eternity of unceasing shadow. GalaXyz Summon!" A woman rose from the black hole. Her skin was pitch-black, and yet her royal robes and long hair were even darker. She had a crown-mask and a giant scythe, both of silver. "**Hecate, Witch Goddess of Lunanima**!" (3500 DEF) Three balls of light flew around her; the superheroes presumed they represented the Xyz monsters and Ice Priestess' former material.

_Lilith's summoned her strongest card,_ Ray thought. _A GalaXyz monster... but what have I accomplished this duel?_ He clenched his fist. _Lilith, I promise I'll help._

"Hecate's effect," Lilith said, as her monster snapped her fingers. "Once per turn, she puts a Moon Counter on **Lunar Impact**. And I don't even have to detach anything." Hecate lazily beckoned at the moon, and it flew forward a position. (2 Moon Counters) "End turn!"

"I didn't expect such a monster to appear!" Junkgirl said nervously. "Still! I shan't give up! I activate **The Warrior Returning Alive**, letting me add **Junk Synchron** from my Graveyard to my hand. And now, I shall once again summon **Junk Synchron**!" It appeared yet again; this time pointing its hand towards the ground as **Doppelwarrior** appeared beside it. "**Junk Synchron**'s effect Special Summons **Doppelwarrior**. And now, I'll activate **Quillbolt Hedgehog**'s effect and summon it as well!"

"Here it comes," said Lilith.

"I tune **Junk Synchron**, **Doppelwarrior**, my remaining **Doppel Token** and **Quillbolt Hedgehog**. Synchro Summon! The fierce warrior of truth, **Junk Destroyer**!" A beetle-like mechanical warrior appeared. It spread its blade-like wings and stretched four arms. (2600 ATK) Two more **Doppel Tokens**appeared with it. (400 ATK) "And now for Destroyer's effect! I destroy a number of cards you control up to the number of non-Tuners I used as synchromaterial. I destroy Lunar Impact and Hecate!"

"Dammit," Lilith muttered. "Hecate's effect. By detaching an Xyz Material, I activate a **Moonlight V**– "

"Leave this one to me, Lilith!" Ray protested. "I Special Summon **Solanimus Guardian Phoenix**!" A long-necked bird flew from his hand, shrouded in golden flames. (100 DEF) "When two or more cards would be destroyed, I can Special Summon this guy. First off, those cards aren't destroyed." He pointed at the new **Doppel Tokens**. "Then, it destroys the same number of monsters with less DEF than Phoenix's 1000!" The bird let loose a stream of fire, obliterating the two **Doppel Tokens**.

"**Hecate's** own effect wouldn't have saved **Lunar Impact**," said Lilith. "Thanks. I owe you one."

"No you don't. We're a team!" Ray said.

"Now that's the attitude we like to see!" said Scrapman.

"Junk Destroyer attacks Guardian Phoenix!" Junkgirl cried.

"Okay, _now_ I activate **Hecate's**–"

"Lilith, it's fine. It's served its purpose," Ray said, as the giant robot punched his phoenix into oblivion. "Save **Hecate's**effect to protect herself."

Lilith nodded. "Right."

"My turn!" said Ray. "I... set one backrow." _Down to one card in my hand. But Lilith, I promise you, I'll spend it protecting **Hecate**._ He looked over at Lilith. _She's still got what, three cards? How does she do it?_

"Then for my turn!" Scrapman announced. "When I control a Scrap monster, I can Special Summon this card. **Scrap Orthros**!" A two-headed dog made of discarded metal hopped into position. (1700) "Now, it destroys a Scrap monster I control. Goodbye, **Scrap Dragon**!" The ice-encased dragon exploded.

"Problem solved," said Ray.

"Fool!" Scrapman cried. "When **Scrap Dragon** is destroyed, I Special Summon a Scrap from my Graveyard. Be reborn, **Scrap Chimera**!" The pieces that were once **Scrap Dragon** spun around in the air, finally forming the winged, snake-tailed lion from before. (1700 ATK) "I'm tuning **Scrap Chimera** and **Scrap Orthros**! Synchro Summon! **Scrap Dragon**!" Another enormous dragon appeared, landing on the field with a shockwave simply by its weight. (2800 ATK) "All we have to do is get **Hecate** to waste its materials... no **Hecate**, no Moon Counters! I set a card, and then use **Scrap Dragon**'s effect! I destroy the set card and **Hecate**!"

"Fool," Lilith said mockingly. "Do you honestly think you can get me to use my three materials before **Lunar Impact's** effect activates? I chain **Hecate's** effect! I detach an Xyz Material to activate **Moonlight Veil** from my deck." A wall of light appeared; the card back behind **Scrap Dragon**exploded, but Hecate remained unharmed.

"I do think that, yes," Scrapman said. "**Scrap Dragon**'s effect will activate every turn. Backed up by Junkgirl! Your Lunar Impact only has two counters. There's no way Hecate will last that long! End turn!"

"Cocky, cocky," Lilith shook her head. "I can understand trying to destroy **Hecate** over Lunar Impact if you think that all Lunar Impact can do is end the game, but... you're wrong there too. I activate **Gift of Moonlight**!" She pointed at the sky. "If I have two or more Moon Counters on cards I control, I draw two cards." Two cards flew from the moon and into her hand. "Next, I'll activate **Hecate's**effect. Bring the moon closer, my Goddess." The pitch-black woman glanced up at the moon, snapped her fingers and it lurched forward. (3 Moon Counters)

"It's still too slow, I'm sorry to say!" said Scrapman.

"Then I'll speed it up. I play **Monster Reborn**. You didn't notice which Xyz Material I detached, did you?" Lilith snapped her fingers, and **Gravity Queen** reappeared. (3000 DEF) "And now, I summon **Seadancer of Lunanima**." The two Xyz ladies were joined by a mermaid with a tail made of water. (100 ATK)

"Perfect," said Ray.

"**Seadancer's** effect attaches a Lunanima in my Graveyard to **Gravity Queen**," Lilith explained, as an image of **Potion-Brewer** appeared briefly and became a light circling the queen. "Now, I'll detach it." The light disappeared; **Gravity Queen**pointed her sceptre at the moon and pulled it another stage. (4 Moon Counters) "I set one card!"

"Scrapman, you miscalculated!" Ray exclaimed.

"So it would seem," Scrapman muttered.

"My turn, then!" said Junkgirl. "**Junk Destroyer** attacks **Seadancer**!" The robot fired its hands like bullets, but they bounced harmlessly off a wall of light, produced by **Hecate's**waving hands.

"Hecate activates **Moonlight Veil**from my Graveyard," said Lilith. (1 Xyz Material)

"End turn!" said Junkgirl.

"Lilith," said Ray, as he looked at his drawn card. "I'm entrusting this duel to you! This is all I can do to help. I activate **Dragon's Final Gift**!" From his Graveyard slot stretched **Raging Dragon's**head, then the rest of it. It looked towards Ray solemnly, or at least as solemnly as a giant dragon could look. "I banish a Dragon-type Synchro in my Graveyard... and then I draw two cards."

"Ray." said Lilith, as Raging Dragon dissolved. "You gave up your favourite card..."

"Of course," said Ray. "I set another card. End turn!"

"How noble," said Scrapman. "But it will be in vain! I summon **Scrap Mind Reader**!" What looked like a robotic head connected to a series of wires burst from one of the piles of garbage. (0 ATK) "And now! I tune **Scrap Mind Reader** with **Scrap Dragon**! Synchro Summon! The yin and the yang of resonating rubble! **Scrap Twin Dragon**!" **Scrap Dragon**reappeared, but, as the name would suggest, it had an extra head. Both were now connected to the main body by what looked like just springs. (3000 ATK)

"Excellent, Scrapman!" Junkgirl exclaimed.

"I set a card, and then activate **Scrap Twin Dragon**'s effect!" Scrapman decided. "Now, I can return two of your cards to your hand and destroy my backrow. Therefore, I return Hecate and Lunar Impact!"

"And Moonlight Veil can't stop it!" Junkgirl added.

"No, but I can!" Ray cried. "**Divine Wrath**!" His facedown card flipped and a giant bolt of lightning struck the two-headed dragon right between the heads. "I have to discard Solanimus Fireraptor, but it was worth it."

"Well, when **Scrap Twin Dragon** is destroyed by a card you control, I can Special Summon a Scrap from my Graveyard," Scrapman explained. "Be reborn, **Scrap Beast**!" The tiger-like creature appeared once more. (1600 ATK) "**Scrap Beast**attacks Seadancer of Lunanima!"

"Time for my set card – **Book of Moon**," Lilith announced. "I flip Seadancer into face-down defense position." _What was I thinking not using this on **Scrap Mind Reader**? Ray could've saved his **Divine Wrath**... but then**Scrap Dragon** could still have attacked **Gravity Queen**. We saved an Xyz Material like this._ She realized, as the tiger ran into the now-defensive **Seadancer**(1800 DEF). It bounced off and shook its head. (200 damage - 2600 LP)

"For my turn," said Lilith. "I activate **Seadancer's** effect." A light appeared, circling **Gravity Queen**, and then disappeared. "**Gravity Queen** adds a new counter to **Lunar Impact** – and so does **Hecate**!" (6/7) "I set one card. End turn!"

"Aha!" said Junkgirl. "I activate **Heavy Storm**!"

"Chain," said Lilith. "**Dark Bribe**."

"Well, I got it out of the way for Scrapman," Junkgirl sighed, drawing a card. "**Junk Destroyer**attacks Burning Snake!"

"Don't waste your Xyz Material, Lilith!" Ray said, as the giant robot punched Burning Snake. (800 damage - 4100 LP) He began his turn as Junkgirl waved her hand. _Yes! I drew it!_ "I summon **Solanimus Blazing-Mane Lion**... and set one card. End turn!"

"You have fought well," said Scrapman. "But I'm afraid it's over. I activate **Dark Hole**!"

"What?" Lilith asked. "I still have an Xyz Material on **Hecate**. I detach it to activate **Moonlight Veil**!"

"Which is why I'm so happy that, by negating **Scrap Twin Dragon**, you let me keep my backrow – **Fiendish Chain**!" Scrapman flipped up his only card; chains flew out of the ground towards Hecate. "With this, Hecate's effect is negated! No **Moonlight Veil** means **Dark Hole**works!"

_Dammit!_ Lilith cursed mentally. _Just one more counter... and I can't come back with a hand like this. Ray doesn't even have a hand._She glanced up at the field. To her surprise, chains were now wrapped around Ray's lion instead of her goddess. "What?"

"Weren't you listening?" Ray asked. "I played **Shift**. **Fiendish Chain**'s target is now **Solanimus Blazing-Mane Lion**! Hecate's effect continues as normal."

"Ray, you saved Hecate again."

"I didn't want to change my parents' deck, but **Shift** is a great card for tag duels." He shrugged, as a black hole appeared in the field, sucking away only **Junk Destroyer**. "Also, too many people here play **Fiendish Chain**. I don't like the card much."

"We are defeated!" Scrapman announced. "End turn!"

"Well then," said Lilith. She snapped her fingers. "Hecate adds the final counter. Lunar Impact!" She cried, as the moon finally connected with the ground. It was as if there was a giant, porous mountain coming out of the earth in front of them. Just as Ray and Lilith were admiring the sight, it – and the other holograms – disappeared.

"A most amazing duel," said Scrapman, as Junkgirl passed **Eldricyte – Neutros the Twister**to Julian. "It has been an honour." He jumped into the air and somersaulted into a trash pile out of sight.

"Though I have never known heroes with your desire to cast the world into eternal darkness," said Junkgirl, looking at Lilith. "Nor your temper," she said to Ray, "I believe the two of you are destined for great things. However... be careful about the path you choose. Never-ceasing darkness is not the goal of a hero." With those wise words, she too somersaulted into a pile of garbage.

"It..." said Lilith. "It was just a summoning chant."

"The Grande Bretagne," said Julian. "I've stayed at this hotel before. The rooms might not be the greatest, but the food is incredible." Ray and Lilith looked around at the buffet they were now in the midst of. "I figured the two of you could use a break from airship food and turbulence while you sleep. And this is on me, of course."

"Any particular occasion?" Lilith asked.

"The job's half-over, of course," said Julian. "More than half, actually. The two of you have earned it." He shrugged. "Also, there's a decent chance that there's another Eldricyte holder here in Athens. There's no sense leaving before we're sure."

"I see," said Lilith. "The room plans are – "

"Don't worry. You have your own room. Ray and I will share one."

"Thanks." She looked around. "Where did Ray go?"

"I'm over here!" called a distant Ray, holding up a tray packed to the brim with various kinds of meat.

"Oh," said Lilith. "I guess we should hurry before he eats everything in the buffet." She began her rounds of the food and Julian chuckled.

"Sow-vlah-key," said Ray.

"Soo-vlah-key," Lilith corrected. "Come on, that's exactly how it reads. It's just meat on a stick, you'll probably like it." She glanced around the buffet. _Julian's over by the seafood... perfect._"Ray," she whispered. "Once Julian falls asleep, come to my room."

"Eh?" Ray fumbled the tongs he was using to grab a piece of souvlaki, snapping the stick.

"Julian's hiding something," She continued. "He's been too desperate to get these Eldricytes..."

"He's a card collector," Ray said, trying to keep his voice as quiet as Lilith's. "Of course he's desperate to – "

"Ray, please. Trust me on this."

Ray sighed. "Fine."

"I'm going to go get some mussels." She turned, but then remembered something and turned back. "Oh, and bring the Eldricytes."

"Yeah," said Ray offhandedly, as he tried to grab another souvlaki. As he put it on his now-overflowing plate, he suddenly registered what Lilith had said. "Wait, what?"

It was a cheerful supper. Julian complimented Ray and Lilith's partnership with a mock-toast. The kids had a playful argument about whether Hecate or Raging Dragon/Assault Mode was the better card. All three of them introduced themselves to strange Greek foods, happy to have something a little more extravagant than what little could be kept on an airship. Finally, they talked about the future plans over baklava.

"Wow, I actually can't eat this," Lilith said, prodding at the pastry. "It's just too sweet."

"Yoink," said Ray, grabbing Lilith's plate, as she gave an expression that looked like she was trying not to look amused.

Finally, the three departed to their two rooms. Ray, as per Lilith's request, fought the urge to fall asleep as soon as he touched the comfortable bed. He glanced over at Julian's bed. _I still can't hear any snoring,_ He thought._I gotta stay up longer. Hmm, counting sheep is supposed to put people to sleep... so if I count _dragons_, it'll help me stay up! It's genius! One dragon... two dragons... three..._

"Ray," said an unimpressed Lilith, poking him in the head. "You fell asleep."

"What? Blarg? Dragons?" Ray flinched. "Wait, I'm confused."

"It is 2am. I figured you and Julian were both asleep by now so I snuck in here. What's up?"

"Sorry, I was trying to keep awake – "

"I mean, where'd Julian go?" Lilith pointed towards the empty bed. "It's convenient, but..."

"Sorry," said Ray, shaking his head. "I didn't see him go."

"Well, he left the Eldricyte binder," said Lilith. "So it's our lucky day." She turned on a light, stunning Ray for a second, and sat on the side of his bed as she opened the binder. "I never got a good look at any of these."

"Me either," said Ray, sitting up beside her. There were only six pockets in the binder; the top three were filled. "**Eldricyte – Basos the Flayer**," Ray read. "LIGHT... Level 1 Synchro?"

"Impossible to summon," Lilith mused.

"**Monos the Swallower** actually has an Eldricyte-support effect," Ray noted. "So does **Neutros the Twister**."

"Are you seriously not looking at the art?" Lilith asked. She passed the binder to Ray. He held it closer to the light. Basos was a disturbingly-detailed demon emerging from a wall of flesh. Parts of the wall became tentacles full of blood-soaked spikes. Basos was a horrible mass of mouths connected to bare esophagi and stomachs. Each stomach joined at the base to form what looked like a brain made of intestines. Finally, Neutros looked to be a human, emerging from the fleshy wall at the knees, but its legs were wrapped around each other. Its torso too was full of twist marks that made it look like the skeleton had been rotated at a few spots within its skin. Finally, its skull was facing the wrong way, giving a horrifying look of a screaming face pressed against the skin on the back of its head, with no mouth, nose or eye sockets.

"Why was Julian after these?" Ray asked. "I'd only collect cool-looking cards."

"Well, they are one-of-a-kind," Lilith said. "Still, I'm with you on that." Ray fiddled with the top of the binder pages. "What are you doing? Leave those alone!"

"Julian could always tell a real Eldricyte from the back!" Ray said. "I want to know why." He finally retrieved Monos and carefully slid it out of its protective case.

"See anything?" Lilith asked, as Ray examined the back in close detail.

"Yeah," He said, poking at the corner. "There's like a little bit of paper on it." He scratched at it. "It's not coming off."

"That's the card itself!" Lilith realized, taking it. "The back's peeling off. Didn't we get this one from Leo and Lise? I figured they'd take care of it better." As she tried to press the peeling corner back, it flipped completely to the other side and fell off. "Oops."

"Lilith! You broke it!" Ray cried. He waited for a response. "I was kidding... I'm sure Julian knows it was like this..."

"Ray, look at this," Lilith said. The inside of the card was not blank white as Ray had expected. There were drawings covering the card from top to bottom. Expertly-drawn diagrams of gears, axles, bits of machinery that neither Lilith or Ray recognized. There was writing surrounding the pictures. Numbers, measurements, but also instructions. Instructions on how to fit the pieces together. Hints as to which Eldricyte to look to next for the next steps.

"What... what is this?" Ray asked.

"Blueprints," said a voice from the doorway. Julian walked back into the room. He was holding a cup of steaming tea and shaking his head. "I suppose I should have told you." He picked the fake back up off the floor. "I was still hoping to keep these in good shape, but Leo and Lise really went overboard studying this. A simple flashlight behind the card would've shown the blueprints..."

"Julian," said Lilith. "What are these blueprints for?"

He sighed. "They're called the Lymph Nodes. The technology-destroying device..."


	6. Flight 6: The Boon

**Flight 6: The Boon**_  
><em>

"Ray, look at this," Lilith said. The inside of the card was not blank white as Ray had expected. There were drawings covering the card from top to bottom. Expertly-drawn diagrams of gears, axles, bits of machinery that neither Lilith or Ray recognized. There was writing surrounding the pictures. Numbers, measurements, but also instructions. Instructions on how to fit the pieces together. Hints as to which Eldricyte to look to next for the next steps.

"What... what is this?" Ray asked.

"Blueprints," said a voice from the doorway. Julian walked back into the room. He was holding a cup of steaming tea and shaking his head. "I suppose I should have told you." He picked the fake back up off the floor. "I was still hoping to keep these in good shape, but Leo and Lise really went overboard studying this. A simple flashlight behind the card would've shown the blueprints..."

"Julian," said Lilith. "What are these blueprints for?"

He sighed. "They're called the Lymph Nodes. The technology-destroying device."

"What the hell is a technology-destroying device?" Lilith demanded.

"The Lymph Node System is designed to have one Node in certain parts of the world," said Julian. "In fact, one of the Eldricytes has a map showing where each Node goes."

"Okay, but what do they do?" Ray asked. "How do they destroy technology?"

"The world would be flooded with a brief electromagnetic pulse," Julian continued. "It wouldn't last very long, but it would almost definitely be powerful enough to permanently damage everything on the planet that relies on electricity."

"And that would destroy all technology?" Ray asked. "We'd just fix it."

"The world would be thrown into chaos," said Julian. "Nowadays, everything is done using technology. From cooking food to transportation to even being able to see," He pointed towards a light bulb. "There would be too much to fix and not enough manpower. It would also have a long-term effect on humanity's scientific growth."

"All the best scientists would be killed by their own experiments," Lilith realized. "As well as everyone within a two-mile radius of Leo and Lise's laboratory."

"Precisely," Julian said solemnly. "There are thousands of scientists around the world who have dangerous experiments. Quite a few have more dangerous experiments than even Leo and Lise."

"So why the hell are we collecting these Eldricytes?" Ray demanded. "You're not trying to build this Lymph System, are you?"

"Of course not!" Julian snapped. "I'm trying to keep these blueprints out of the wrong hands! But I have no way of knowing how many people have seen them already. Someone smart enough could build the Lymph Nodes from a single Eldricyte blueprint. That's why we have to get them all."

"Who would design something like this?" Ray asked.

"My father," said Julian. "Alfred Bernhard Nobel." He shook his head. "He was one of the most brilliant scientists in the last century. He found a way to make nitroglycerine more or less inert, and invented dynamite. He was only intending to create a more efficient tool for construction. However, human nature had other plans.

"People saw dynamite's potential not for construction, but for warfare. My father watched in horror as his invention was used to kill more people more efficiently than anyone had ever considered. A newspaper once called him the merchant of death, and he accepted that nickname in shame.

"My father gave up the life of a scientist for years, until he met a small group of scientists who were willing to help him redeem himself. They believed that they could create a machine that would halt humanity's technological evolution. And my father, still guilt-stricken over his own invention, helped them. So, the three of them designed the Lymph Nodes.

"That poor fool," Julian said, shaking his head. "It was a long while after he designed the Lymph Nodes that he began to regret that too. He was a brilliant man, but cursed – he never understood the consequences of what he was designing. On his deathbed, he told me he had hid the plans for the Lymph Nodes... mentioned the word 'Eldricyte', and... well, I'm sure the rest is obvious."

"Why didn't he just destroy the plans?" Lilith asked.

"Scientists' pride, for one," said Julian. "The Lymph Nodes were possibly his greatest work. He couldn't bring himself to simply destroy the plans – especially not before they were ever built. Also, I don't think he ever made up his mind. Perhaps he decided that humanity might reach a point where the Lymph Nodes were the only option. I'm not entirely sure I ever knew what that man was thinking."

"Julian," said Ray. "We have three out of five Eldricytes. Do you honestly think anyone could create the Lymph Nodes with just the final two?"

"It's possible," said Julian. "But as long as that possibility exists, we must gather all five Eldricytes."

"Can't we just destroy them?" Lilith asked.

"If you want to be without the diagrams that explain how to safely dismantle it," Julian said. "No, destroying the plans is only a viable option if we were sure that there was no one on the planet who could build the Nodes." He sighed. "I may be biased, however. The Lymph Nodes were, as I said, my father's design. As horrible as the system is, it's too brilliant to remove from the world completely."

"And these are one-of-a-kind Duel Monsters cards," Ray added. "And you're a card collector."

"That has a little to do with it. Incidentally, please put that card back in its case," Julian said, glaring. Ray quickly did so. "Now, I believe it's time for you two to go to sleep. Tomorrow, we'll probably leave Athens and will hopefully find the fourth Eldricyte-holders. I don't want you to be too tired to duel them properly."

"R-right," Ray muttered.

"Um, sorry for – " Lilith began, but stopped as Julian raised a hand.

"I should have told you sooner. I'm sorry," Julian said. "But please, next time you want to know something, ask me first."

_Who are those people?_ A young Lilith asked, watching a couple men run through the house's main foyer and down the stairs. _Are they here about Dad's invention?_ She put down the stack of cards she was holding and silently followed the men. As she approached her father's workshop, she heard the voices that she assumed belonged to the men. _What are they saying? I need to get closer._

"...directly into his brain stem."

"What the hell was he trying to accomplish?"

"I have no idea."

_What?_Lilith asked herself. For the first time she could remember, the door to her father's workshop was unlocked and open.

"Are you sure you want to go in there?" A voice asked. Lilith looked up. A normal-age Ray was leaning against the door frame, looking down at the small child that was Lilith. "You know what you'll see, don't you?"

"I have to go in," said Lilith. "That's how the dream works. I have to see what I saw that day."

"Why?" asked Ray. "It's your dream. Pick something else. Something less depressing." He jerked his thumb at the door to the lab. "What you see every night is the past. It isn't going anywhere, and you've seen it enough times. It's time to look at the future. The future you can decide for yourself." It was then that Lilith realized she was sitting on the floor. She stood up, now just as old and almost as tall as Ray, as usual. "You sure grow up fast."

"Don't patronize me," Lilith said.

"So, what's behind the door?" Ray asked, eagerly staring at it. "Let's see it!"

"Yeah, yeah," Lilith chuckled. She put her hand against the door... and woke up.

"And there's our sleeping beauty now," Ray chuckled as Lilith finally joined him and Julian for breakfast. Ray was finishing a bowl of oatmeal as Julian sipped a cup of coffee and read a newspaper. "What kept you?"

"I stayed up 'til 2 to sneak into your room, remember?" Lilith said, raising an eyebrow. She scooped herself a bowl of oatmeal as well.

Julian chuckled, stroking his moustache. "What an interesting conversation." He flipped a page. "Oh, here's something else interesting." He put the newspaper down on the table and pointed to an article. "Eldricytes Targeted," He read. "A tiny column, but I guess people are interested in we who have defeated three tournament winners."

"Awesome!" Ray grabbed the page. "'A man and two teenagers or young adults have been seen duelling several of the finalists from the recent Greek Islands Championship'," he read. "'As of this article, the trio had obtained three Eldricytes – **Basos the Flayer**, **Monos the Swallower** and **Eosinos the Burner**. The trio were not available for interviews, but Miss Lise Meitner and Dr. Leo Szilard were available to give comments.' There's a bit more on page 17."

"Wait, which Eldricytes did they list?" Lilith asked.

"Basos, Monos and... Eosinos," said Ray.

"No mention of Neutros?" Julian wondered.

"Our duel against Junkgirl and Scrapman was pretty late in the evening," said Lilith. "Maybe they rushed to print the column and didn't confirm which Eldricyte those two had had beforehand?"

"No," said Julian, now on page 17. "The article goes on to list the people we've defeated. Fifth-place winners Nephele and Demetria Ambrosia, third-place winners Lise Meitner and Leo Szlilard, then second-place winners Jorgun and Balinbow Bakusa. There's no mention of Scrapman and Junkgirl... oh, wait." He pointed to a lower section of the article. "It specifically lists those two, as well as the first-place winners of the tournament, as people who should watch out for us."

"So what's that mean?" Ray asked, drinking the milk out of his cereal bowl. "The media sucks?"

"Either they made a lot of coincidental errors," said Julian. "Or there's another group after the Eldricytes."

"A group of one man and two young adults?" Ray asked. "That seems pretty unlikely."

Julian sighed. "Unfortunately, there are a couple other people who might be after the Eldricytes. And, for those who don't have a tag-duelling partner, hiring duellists like I have you isn't out of the question."

"Didn't you mention a 'small group of scientists' that helped your father invent the Lymph Nodes?" Lilith asked. "Are they the couple other people?"

"Yes," said Julian. "George Chapman and Albert Gewald. Though now that I think about it, Mr. Chapman gave up science quite a number of years ago in favour of card collecting – similar to myself. Yes, it must be Gewald." He sighed. "My father specifically warned me about that man. Though my father and Mr. Chapman were interested in building the Lymph Nodes, it was Gewald who was the most eager. Indeed, he was the one who began the project."

"Why?" asked Ray.

"I couldn't say," said Julian. "But, our next step is clear. At some point, the two of you will have to duel whoever Albert Gewald has hired. However, they will likely be coming to us."

"Why would one of the inventors of – " Lilith began a question, but Julian interrupted her.

"Albert could never have figured out the Lymph Nodes himself. Otherwise, what use would there have been for Mr. Chapman and my father? I have no doubt that he only knows a small amount of how to build the Lymph Nodes. He likely needs all five Eldricytes to construct them." He stroked his moustache. "The people he's hired are stronger than anyone you've faced so far. They were able to defeat even the runners-up in the tournament."

"We can still beat them!" Ray argued.

"I want to make absolutely sure," said Julian. "I also want to be absolutely sure that it is Gewald that we're looking for. Our next destination will be George Chapman's house here in Athens. We will talk to him about Gewald and the Lymph Nodes."

"Okay, but how is that going to make absolutely sure we can beat whoever Gewald's hired?" Lilith asked.

"He is a collector of extremely rare cards, just as I am. However, he dabbles in a specific kind of card." Julian held up his index finger for emphasis. "Cards that represent the unity of opposites. There is one card that I lack, but I'm sure has not escaped his collection. A card that joins Solanimus and Lunanima."

"There's a card like that?" Ray asked, awe-struck.

"There is indeed," said Julian. "I don't know its entire name. To me, it's only 'Eklepia'. Two completely-opposite themes... a card that joins them together... yes, George Chapman would do anything in his power to obtain it."

"Is this why you picked us specifically?" Lilith asked. "So we could use this card?"

"No no," Julian said. "I was never planning to bet any cards from my collection against anything other than Eldricytes, so the thought hadn't crossed my mind – though I wouldn't have complained if either of you had already owned Eklepia. No, I picked the two of you because I believe you can bring out the best in each other. I too believe in the joining of opposites."

"Realistically, we won't be able to refuse duelling Albert's minions no matter when they show up, right?" Lilith asked. "We need the last two Eldricytes as much as they do."

"Agreed," said Julian. "If Albert finds us, or we find Albert, we'll have to duel whether we have Eklepia or not. So, let's find Mr. Chapman and chat about Eklepia as soon as possible."

"How soon is that?" Lilith asked.

"As soon as you finish your breakfast."

"Another bloody laboratory?" Lilith rubbed her forehead, as the three stood before a rundown building.

"I thought you said Mr. Chapman stopped science-ing," Ray said.

"Yes, but I suppose he never got rid of the lab," Julian said. "I suppose he could still do it as a hobby. But don't worry, Lilith, I don't expect anything that shoots electricity."

"Good."

Julian carefully stepped up to the door, but to their relief, there were no trap doors. Ray and Lilith followed as Julian knocked and, not a robot, but a human answered the door – a young, dark-haired maid. "Hello there," said Julian. "Is Mr. Chapman in?"

"Please follow me," said the maid in a depressing monotone. As she turned, Lilith noticed a piece of machinery sticking out of the bottom of her neck.

_I guess she's not as human as I thought,_ Lilith considered, trying not to sigh out loud. _Crazy scientists._She followed behind Ray and Julian, noting how dusty and dreary the inside of the building was as well. Lilith was at least happy to see that, wherever she expected to find some odd experiment was instead a bookcase or other piece of non-explosive furniture. They finally approached a large parlour, similar to the one in which they had first met, which was empty except for a large chair facing a fireplace.

"Master George Chapman," introduced the maid. She then left.

"Hello, George," Julian said gravely. A shadow rose out of the chair. There was no doubt George Chapman was old, but Ray and Lilith had expected someone around Julian's age. George looked not much more than middle-age. He still had a decent head of hair as well as a handlebar moustache that was almost as large as Julian's.

"That voice," said George. "You're Alfred's son, aren't you?"

"That's right."

"Julian, was it?"

"Yes."

Lilith noticed how tense Julian's responses seemed to be. She glanced at Ray, who also looked uneasy. _Even he's noticed it. There's something off about this guy._

"I wonder," said George. "What brings you here? I thought your father warned you to stay away from me."

"He did, decades ago," Julian agreed. "However, we're both grown men now. I'd be... surprised... if your methods of obtaining cards were the same as they were when we met."

"I do regret those days," George said solemnly. "It's true that stealing was the only way I could obtain cards at that point, what with all of our funds being put into those damned projects, but... I won't make excuses for my behaviour. But we're getting off-track. Why have you come here?"

"I've come here to bet on a duel," said Julian. "With that Eklepia of yours as ante."

"Eklepia is one of my rarest cards," George replied. "You'd have to bet something – "

"My deck," said Julian, fanning out his cards. "I know you were collecting opposites. My father warned me about you specifically because he knew you'd be interested in my deck."

"Dualities," George muttered, stroking his chin and leaning over to see the deck. "You have all of them?"

"Yes."

"Then it's a deal." George strode over to a bookcase filled with card binders. He wasted no time in finding one particular one, took out a card and showed it to Julian. "I'll wager my Eklepia." He tossed the card onto a nearby table, took a dusty duel disc from a shelf and strapped it to his arm.

"So, who's going to duel him?" Ray asked. "Lilith's been adding things like **Shift**to her deck, so it's probably better if I – "

"I'll be duelling," said Julian quickly. He flipped a switch on his disc that auto-shuffled his deck. "This isn't for an Eldricyte, so it's not part of your job."

"So you think you can do better than the professional duellists you hired?" George asked incredulously. "Oh well, it doesn't matter to me. Let's..."

"Duel," They said together.

"I'll set one monster and... two backrows," Julian said carefully, as three card backs appeared.

"How dull," George said. "I summon **Chaos-End Master**!" There appeared a white-and-gold angel with an impatient look on his face. (1500 ATK) "**Chaos-End Master**attacks your monster." Chaos-End shot a ray of light from its fingertips. A tadpole that looked like a yin-yang symbol with a tail appeared and caught the attack, exploding.

"That was **Duality – Subsulto**," Julian explained. "When it's destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon a Duality from my deck. Behold, **Duality – Pungo**!" A small lizard with a spiky tail took the place of the fallen tadpole (1800 ATK)

"Well, when **Chaos-End Master** destroys a monster by battle, I can Special Summon a monster from my deck as well. Appear, **Sphere of Chaos**!" An eerie, mechanical ball appeared beside the angel, rotating slowly in the air. (1600 ATK)

"If that's all you're summoning, then I activate this!" Julian announced, as one of his set cards flipped up. "**Shattered Duality**. When a Duality is destroyed, I Special Summon a different Duality with the same Level. **Duality – Servo**!" A black and white turtle shell appeared beside Pungo the lizard, eyes visible through the hole in the front. (2100 DEF) "By its effect, you can't attack other Dualities."

"I can't destroy it by battle either," George agreed. "So during my Main Phase 2, I'll tune Level 3 **Chaos-End Master** with Level 5 **Sphere of Chaos**! Harken to the tale told at the end of time. Behold the creature born of anarchy. Synchro Summon! Scream, **Chaos End Dragon – Envoy of Eternity**!"

"That card..." Julian muttered. An enormous, armoured dragon rose from the ground. A long mane of red hair flapped in the nonexistent wind. (3000 ATK)

"When this card is summoned, all other cards are destroyed," George explained. "And then you take 500 for each. Say goodbye to your **Pungo** and **Servo**... as well as that backrow."

"That backrow is **Duality Cycle**," Julian explained, as it flipped up. "Now, I can select pairs of Light and Dark Dualities, and then draw one card for each pair." He drew a single card. "More importantly, it doesn't count as being destroyed by **Chaos End Dragon**. Though, it's a shame..." He instinctively covered his face as his reptiles exploded, and a shockwave of dust flew over his face. (1000 damage - 7000 LP)

"What an unfair card," Ray muttered.

"Life isn't fair, child," said George. "End turn."

Julian drew. He glanced at the card and frowned. "I activate **Sage's Meditation**," he said. An aura of white and black light shone around him briefly. "Now, I can add a Light and a Dark Duality from my Graveyard to my hand. I reclaim **Servo** and **Subsulto**." The tadpole and turtle appeared as well, leaping from the floor into his hand of cards. "Now, I set one monster and another backrow. End turn."

"Julian must not have drawn **Third Eye of Enlightenment**," Lilith whispered to Ray. "Without that, he can't lead any sort of offence."

"So..." said George. "That facedown of yours is likely **Subsulto**. These Dualities are going to be annoying considering all the Graveyard recursion they possess. But... I banish **Chaos-End Master** and [color]**Sphere of Chaos[/color]** in my Graveyard!" Their images appeared briefly and crumpled. "Arise! **Chaos Sorcerer**!" A wicked-looking warlock in a black cape faded into view. "With this, I'll simply remove whatever monster you summon with**Subsulto**. **Chaos End Dragon**attacks!" The dragon let loose a stream of light that constantly shifted colour.

"You were wrong," said Julian. "The monster is **Servo**, actually. Here's why! I activate my set card – **Evolutionary Pressure**! I send a monster that's being attacked to the Graveyard..." The card disappeared. "And now, I summon its Transformed version. **Duality – Servo Lente**!" An enormous tortoise took the place of the facedown card. It had its head out of its shell proudly. (1600 ATK) "Furthermore, your monster keeps attacking." He pointed towards **Chaos End** **Dragon**. "However, by the effect of **Servo Lente**, **Chaos End** **Dragon**'s ATK becomes its DEF of 2500, and **Servo Lente**'s ATK becomes its DEF of 2800!"

"Impressive," George admitted. The stream was absorbed into the tortoise's shell, and then reflected back at the dragon, obliterating it. (300 damage - 7700 LP) "However, my plan was still effective. During my Main Phase 2, **Chaos Sorcerer** banishes **Servo Lente**." A vortex of black appeared at the tortoise's feet, carrying it into oblivion. "I'll also play **Monster Reborn**!" The armoured dragon reappeared on the field, letting out another roar. (3000 ATK) "End turn."

"I'm kinda glad neither of us is duelling," said Lilith.

"Are you kidding?" Ray demanded. "This game is so intense already. I'd do anything to be part of it."

"Tell me, Julian," said George. "Why are you going so far for this Eklepia card? I know how much effort you and your father spent collecting the Dualities. I know how important they are to you. So why risk them all for a card for... them?" He pointed towards Ray and Lilith.

"I have no choice," said Julian, his hand hesitating above his deck. He took a deep breath. "Albert Gewald... Albert is trying to build the Lymph Nodes."

"No..." said George. "No, it can't be..."

"That's not quite the reaction I expected," Julian admitted. "Perhaps I should've told you that at the beginning and we could have avoided this."

"Albert's creating the Lymph Nodes?" George repeated. "That... monster. How could he?" He turned back to the fireplace. "How could he build them... without me?"

"What?"

George turned back to the duel, eyes brimming with insanity. "Do you have any idea how long I've waited to see the Lymph Nodes built?" He let out a roar of laughter. "That man... he's finally doing it! Finally!"

"Don't you understand what will happen to the world?" Ray demanded.

"Of course I understand!" George exclaimed. "Civilization as we know it will be uprooted! Cities will be destroyed... the world will burn." He turned to Ray and Lilith. "You kids might not be old enough to understand, but humans_live_for this sort of chaos. Humans are programmed to find destruction... exciting. Auto races? People watch them in the hopes that someone will die. News stories report gruesome murders first because that's what people want to see. And do you know why? It's all so simple. People want something different. And the Lymph Nodes... why, what could be as different as the rebirth of society?"

"Enough!" Julian roared. "Not all humans are as disgusting as you. I see now what my father thought – he plain didn't trust you. I wonder how you were able to keep the facade of a normal, sane human in his presence." He pulled the top card of his deck out of the disc. "I wish you had've kept that facade for us. Your true self is horrifying." He glanced at the card and smiled. "I activate **Third Eye of Enlightenment**!"

"There we go!" Ray cried.

"So, little Julian thinks he's enlightened, does he?" George asked, as a beam of light deposited a holographic third eyeball in Julian's forehead. "You're the one with a hologram covering his face. Who's hiding behind a facade now? Can you – "

"What are you blabbering about?" Julian demanded. "It was obvious when you began raving like a lunatic that there's no sense reasoning with the likes of you! I summon **Duality – Celo**!" A yin-yang symbol appeared suspended in midair. Then eight legs burst from it, and it fell to the ground as a white and black spider. (1000 ATK) "Celo attacks **Chaos Sorcerer**!"

"You've lost it," George chuckled, as the spider flew at his warlock. "1000 versus 2300? If you were planning to use **Honest**, you forgot to change **Celo**'s Attribute to Light."

"If I had done that, I couldn't use **Celo**'s own effect," Julian explained, as a strand of web reeled **Celo** back to Julian's hand. "When it battles, I can return it to my hand and Special Summon another Duality, having it battle instead. **Duality – Calco**!" As the spider changed into a card and landed neatly in Julian's hand, a strand of thread snapped forward, launching a black and white elephant onto the field. (2400 ATK) It struggled to catch its footing, running full-speed immediately at **Chaos Sorcerer**, not stopping until it had mowed straight through the wizard. (100 damage - 7600 LP) "Finally, during my End Phase, I activate the effect of **Third Eye of Enlightenment**!"**Calco**'s ears shrank, but every other part of it grew, particularly its tusks. "**Duality – Calco Ingens**!" There stood a black and white mammoth that trumpeted proudly. (3000 ATK)

"And now Julian's got the upper hand," Ray said.

"Don't be so sure," Lilith warned.

"My move!" said George. "I summon **Manju of the 10,000 Hands**!" A horrific idol rose from the ground. It stretched a large number of hands, though Lilith doubted it was actually 10,000. (1400 ATK) "Its effect adds**Advanced Ritual Art** to my hand. Now... **Chaos End** **Dragon** attacks **Calco Ingens**!"

"What?" Ray demanded, as the dragon shot a stream of light. It collided with a similar beam from the mammoth's trunk, resulting in an explosion that left neither.

"I suspected as much," Julian said gravely. "**Chaos End** **Dragon**'s effect activates when it's summoned, so there's no sense keeping it around."

"I attacked because I wanted to, nothing more," George argued. "**Manju of the 10,000 Hands**attacks as well!" The demon-like angel spun in place, creating a Tornado of limbs that crashed into Julian. (1400 damage - 5600 LP) "End turn."

Julian hummed in thought. _He'll likely summon a Ritual monster next turn. There are five I can think of with a chaos theme... however, Black Luster Soldier isn't particularly likely. And he doesn't seem the type to use Northwemko. It's likely Garlandorf or one of the ones summoned by **End of the World**._ He glanced at his hand. _Well, this will defend against any._ "I summon **Duality – Subsulto**!" The tadpole from earlier reappeared on the field, wiggling its tail to swim in place. (1600 ATK) "**Subsulto** attacks **Manju**!" It built up speed in its tail, then launched itself at Manju, headbutting it in the torso. (200 damage - 7400 LP) "I'll end my turn. Now, Subsulto evolves by**Third Eye of Enlightenment** into **Duality – Subsulto Cito**!" The tadpole's tail disappeared, and limbs erupted from its body. A three-eyed frog, half black and half white, landed on the field and ribbited. (2300 ATK)

"I activate **Advanced Ritual Art**!" George declared. A pillar of flame erupted in front of him. "I send Level 4 **Shining Abyss** and Level 3 **Ancient Brain** to the Graveyard..." Two more pillars of fire appeared and shifted into the main column. "Now! Ritual Summon! **Garlandolf, King of Destruction**!" A blue-skinned, horned demon tore its way out of the fire. It let out an unearthly howl. (2500 ATK) "Now – **Garlandolf**'s effect. It destroys all face-up monsters with less DEF than its ATK. What's Subsulto Cito's DEF? Ah, only 400. **Garlandolf**! Chaos Howl!" The demon screamed; the frog flew into the sky. "Now, **Garlandolf**gains 100 ATK." (2600 ATK)

"Well, that triggers **Subsulto Cito**'s effect. When its removed from the field, I Special Summon a Duality from my deck. Behold – **Duality – Cogito**!" As if the floor were water, a yin-yang coloured octopus rose from the depths, lazily floating just at the surface. (2600 DEF)

"So I can't destroy it by battle..." George sighed. "End turn! I see your strategy of cowering behind your monsters is effective."

"Who's cowering?" Julian demanded. "I activate **Pot of Avarice**. I return Dualities **Subsulto**, **Servo**, **Servo Lente**, **Subsulto Cito** and **Calco** to my deck." He flipped a switch, reshuffling his cards, then drew two. "Ah, excellent. I activate **Duality Cycle**! By revealing one Duality in my hand, I Special Summon a Duality in my Graveyard with the opposite Attribute." **Celo** the spider appeared. "Celo is Dark, so I summon back the Light-Attribute**Duality - Pungo**!" He slapped a card onto his disc; the lizard hopped in front of the octopus. "And now that I control another Duality, I can activate **Cogito**'s effect to take control of **Garlandolf**."

"I discard **Effect Veiler**," George said lazily, as a scarfed woman appeared for an instant. "**Cogito**'s effect is negated."

"I figured as much," Julian muttered. "I switch **Cogito** to Attack Position. Next, I summon **Celo**!" The spider appeared for real, taking a stance beside its octopus and lizard companions. "I'll activate **Pungo**'s effect and change its Attribute to DARK. I'll also equip it with this – **Ascension After Death**!" A scroll appeared in the lizard's mouth. "**Pungo** attacks **Garlandolf**!"

"**Garlandolf**is 800 points stronger," George reminded him. "Clearly you have a plan."

"I do," said Julian, as the lizard was swatted into oblivion by the demon. "Any monster that battles a DARK-Attribute **Pungo** is returned to the deck!" A barrage of spikes launched themselves from nowhere, driving Garlandolf back into the ground. "Also, when a Duality equipped with **Ascension After Death**is destroyed by battle..."

"It ascends, I presume," George muttered.

"Exactly. Behold! **Duality – Pungo Exertus**!" The lizard hopped back onto the field, then stood upright and grew until it was taller than even Garlandolf had been. (2400 ATK) "Oh, and don't think my Battle Phase is over.**Celo**, **Cogito** and **Pungo Exertus** – three direct attacks!" Black-and-white thread weaved by **Celo** wrapped around a beam of light shot from **Cogito**'s tentacles before swirling around **Pungo Exertus**' drill-like tail. The three attacks struck George simultaneously (1000 + 2100 + 2400 = 5500 damage - 900 LP). "I will obtain Eklepia. And together, the three of us will stop the Lymph Nodes!"

"That resolve..." said Ray. "There's no way Julian can lose like this."

"I feel it too," said Lilith. "Sheer determination."

"I set one card!" Julian continued. "And during my End Phase, by **Third Eye of Enlightenment**, **Cogito** evolves into **Duality – Cogito Sapiens**!" The octopus' head elongated, becoming a squid's crest. It also sprouted two more tentacles and – naturally – a third eye. (3100 DEF) "Come at me with everything you've got."

"Be careful what you wish for!" George cried. "When a monster is Special Summoned to your field, I can discard a card to Special Summon this! **Chaos Hunter**!" A masked woman in red jumped onto the field. She ran her hand through long, white hair and cracked a whip with her other arm. (2500 ATK) "And now to begin my actual turn. I banish **Shining Abyss** and **Ancient Brain** in my Graveyard." A beam of purple light and a beam of yellow light flew to the ceiling, swirling around each other. "Harken to the nobility of ancient times! Behold the warrior wielding the sword of chaos! **Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning**!" A nimble, blue-and-gold armoured knight leapt down onto the field. It held a curved scimitar and an ornate shield. (3000 ATK)

"It's still no match for **Cogito Sapiens**," said Julian. "And any monster that battles a Duality is Banished by the effect of Pungo Exertus."

"Fool!" George said. "You can't Banish any monsters by the effect of **Chaos Hunter**. As for Cogito Sapiens... I have faith. **Black Luster Soldier** attacks **Cogito Sapiens**!" His knight flew at the squid. Before its sword struck, Julian realized George's plan. "During the Damage Step, I discard **Honest**. This gives **Black Luster Soldier** extra ATK equal to the 2600 of **Cogito Sapiens**!" (ATK: 5600)

"Dammit!" Julian cursed as **Black Luster Soldier** cleaved the squid in twain. However, the two pieces turned into pieces of a yin-yang symbol. "Still... I activate **Shattered Duality**!" The two halves of the yin-yang became a tadpole and a turtle. "When a Fusion Monster Duality is destroyed, its advanced effect is activated – it summons two Dualities of equal level but opposite Attributes from my deck." (**Subsulto**: 200 DEF, **Servo**: 2100 DEF) "Furthermore, you can't attack any monsters other than Servo with that second attack of Black Luster Soldier."

"Very well, I'll attack **Servo**," said George. "But not before I activate **Enemy Controller** from my hand, switching **Servo** to Attack Position." The turtle poked its head out of its shell obliviously. (500 ATK) "**Black Luster Soldier**attacks!" The soldier merely swung its blade through the air; a shockwave sliced the turtle in half. (5100 damage - 500 LP)

"What the hell...?" Ray gasped. "This duel is ridiculous!"

"Chaos versus order," Lilith said softly. "Two completely opposite ideals of what happens when light and dark combine. They're duelling with all of their resolve."

"Now," said George. "Attacking **Celo** would just let you return it to your hand and replace it with a defender. **Chaos Hunter** attacks **Pungo Exertus**!" A lash of the woman's whip caused the dinosaur to explode. (100 damage - 400 LP) "I'll set one card and end. I daresay, Julian, it's over. But you put up a good fight."

"It is over," Julian agreed, drawing. "Order will triumph over chaos! I tribute Dualities **Servo** and **Subsulto**. Light and shadow will become the weapons of humanity! Let law be cast upon the unjust! **Duality – Ordinatus Rex**!" A brilliant white beast galloped onto the arena. A mane of gold ran down its back. It blinked three eyes and let out a roar. (3000 ATK)

"Impressive," George admitted. "It's that card that I wanted from your deck."

"Sorry, you can't have it," Julian said. "I activate **Sage's Meditation** – adding Dualities **Celo** and **Pungo** back to my hand. Next, I summon **Duality – Celo**!" The spider reappeared. (1000 ATK) "I'll activate the effect of Ordinatus Rex." Julian pointed at Celo. "I can select a Duality I control, as well as one of your cards. I send them both to the Graveyard, and then play that Duality's evolved form!" He switched to pointing at **Black Luster Soldier**. Both it and the spider became orbs of light that flew into **Ordinatus Rex**'s mouth. The kirin spat out a black-and-white spider that was bigger than most dogs. (2100 ATK) "Behold! **Duality – Celo Mactabilis**!"

"I see," said George. "Still..."

"Yes, I see your backrow. **Celo Mactabilis**' effect activates!" The spider tossed a web upon the facedown card. "I can target a facedown card, destroy it, and then Special Summon a Duality from my hand." **Pungo** the lizard reappeared, as George's **Mirror Force**exploded. (1800 ATK)

"It... it can't be!" George cried.

"**Ordinatus Rex** attacks **Chaos Hunter**!" Julian ordered, as his kirin launched an enormous blast of spiralling energy through the whip-wielding woman. (500 damage - 400 LP) "You were doomed when you tried using a**Chaos Hunter** to fight order! **Celo Mactabilis**– finish this!" The spider shot a glowing web through its mouth, each strand stabbing through George. (2100 damage - 0 LP)

"That was awesome!" Ray exclaimed.

"And now we've got a weapon to use against the other Eldricyte users," Lilith smiled. "I can hardly wait to – "

"No," said George. "Get out."

"What do you mean no?" Lilith demanded. "Julian won, so – "

"Why were you under the impression that I'd keep my promise?" George asked. He flipped a pistol out of his pocket. "Leave. Now."

"George, you..." Julian began, but George cocked the gun, and the three threw their hands into the air. "Okay, we'll... we'll leave."

"That psychopath," Lilith rubbed her eyes. The three of them now sat in the hotel lobby. "Who the hell threatens to shoot you for winning?"

"That man must have been more unstable than I thought," said Julian. "Though I figured that out when he first mentioned the Lymph Nodes." He glanced at Ray. "What are you grinning about?"

"This," said Ray, holding up a card that sparkled in the room's lights. "I was checking it out during your duel. Then he told us to leave, and, well..."

"He never told you to put it back," Lilith said, shrugging.

"Exactly," said Ray. "Besides, we won it fair and square. I have no regrets..." He held the card closer to the light to get a better look at its artwork. "I like it. Eklepia – Dragon Knight of Syzygy."


	7. Flight 7: Temptation

**Flight 7: Temptation**_  
><em>

Three figures huddled in the shadows of an Athens street corner, trying to avoid being seen in the moonlight. "Okay," whispered Julian. "On my signal, the two of you run to the hangar. Ray, run backwards so the two of you can keep an eye on all of your surroundings. I'll sneak around through the back and start the _Eternal Eclipse_as fast as possible. Got it?"

"Or we could just go," said Ray, at normal speaking volume. "That George guy was pretty crazy. I'm sure he didn't even notice he was missing Eklepia."

"He also had a robot-maid thing," Lilith pointed out. "Probably means he couldn't take care of himself properly. And if he can't even cook his own meals, I doubt he can chase us around Athens forever." She pointed to her feet. "Also, I can't run particularly fast in these boots."

"Forgive me for being a little over-cautious," Julian muttered. "As glad as I am that we now have a trump card – pardon the pun – to use against Albert's group, robbing a madman may not have been the best way to obtain it."

"You won it!" Ray protested. "We'll be fine."

"Oh wait," said Lilith, pointing towards a building. "Julian was right." Standing on the rooftop was the maid, arms crossed and hair billowing in the wind.

"Mister Chapman requests his card returned to him," The maid said emotionlessly. She hopped down to the ground – a fall that should have killed her. "I have been authorized to use lethal force if necessary."

Ray glanced at Lilith. He made an L with his thumb and index finger, raising an eyebrow quizzically. Lilith shook her head. Ray raised his fists and moved them up and down. Lilith shook her head harder. Ray shrugged.

_Non-verbal communication, hmm?_ Julian asked himself. The maid took a boxing stance. _She's clearly stronger than any of us. Likely all three of us._ He noticed a duel disc on her arm, but then shook his head. _No, this can't be solved with card games. I won the card once, but even if I do it again, George probably won't give up. But if I could distract her with a card game and let Ray and Lilith escape... they don't know how to fly the ship. Dammit._

"Surrender the card," the maid said, approaching Julian. "You have five seconds to comply."

"Julian, we can win without the card!" Ray cried.

"He's right. It's not worth our heads." Lilith added.

_If I give away Eklepia, we'd be at a worse chance of stopping the Lymph Nodes. I..._"I can't!" Julian protested. "We need to stop Albert at all costs. If this card increases the chances even a little, we can't give it away!" The maid raised a fist.

"Julian!" Ray and Lilith yelled, somewhere between frustration and concern. The maid continued punching, but at the last second, she jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the flying blade of a tin can lid.

"Suffering scrapheaps! She's a speedy one!" An overly-dramatic voice cried from somewhere distant.

A flash of blue landed in front of them. Junkgirl rose to her feet. "Are you hurt?" She asked.

"N-no..." said Lilith.

"Oh my god this is awesome," said Ray.

"You three!" Scrapman cried, as he walked under a streetlight. "Get to the hangar. We'll hold her off."

"I have no business with the likes of you," said the maid.

"Anyone who attacks innocent bystanders has business with us!" Scrapman argued. "When the sun sets and the crimes of night befall Athens..."

"It is we who punish evildoers! It is we who deliver justice!" Junkgirl continued. As the duo continued their introduction, Julian and Lilith ran to the hangar.

"Ray, we don't have time to listen to the whole speech!" Lilith snapped at Ray, who hadn't moved.

"Aw, man!" Ray groaned, then followed into the hangar. "Be careful, Scrapman and Junkgirl!" Scrapman turned towards the fleeing Ray during one of his pauses in the speech and gave a salute. Ray returned it, tears in his eyes, then Lilith pulled him into the hangar and onto the ship's gangplank. Within a minute, the hangar's roof opened, and the _Eternal Eclipse_began its ascent. Ray stood on the top deck, but couldn't get a good view of the superheroes' battle.

"Don't worry," said Lilith, putting her hand on his shoulder. "They'll be fine. I'm sure they've fought harder battles than this."

"Y-yeah," Ray agreed tentatively.

"That's not exactly how I remember it," Lilith said over a bowl of cereal the next morning. "I think you dreamt about it and your brain added some stuff."

"It's close enough to what happened!" Ray protested. "Maybe you just dreamt about something else and your brain forgot the epic battle."

Lilith sighed. _It's too early for this._ She thought. _Ray might have a point, though. My dream has been distracting me. What's behind that door?_She shook her head and turned to Julian. "What's our plan now? Should we go after the tournament winners?"

"Probably," Julian agreed. "Really, I'm not sure what the best course of action is. On one hand, challenging Albert directly is the only way to get all five Eldricytes... though it has the definite risk of losing all of them."

"And on the other hand, if we go after the first-place winners, then we can make sure four Eldricytes are safe, but then there's the risk of someone constructing the Lymph Nodes with just the one blueprint," Lilith said. "Not that it's up to us."

"Lilith's right," Ray shrugged. "You said Albert needs all the Eldricytes, so he'll come to us at some point. Whether we go after the winners or not, we'll have to duel Albert's group eventually." He pounded the table with his fist. "I say we just go after them right now! We're ready. We have Eklepia. They can't stop us."

"It's too early," Julian shook his head. "If we defeat them now, then there's still a race for the last Eldricyte. If they get it first, we'd have to duel them again, and that leaves plenty of time for them to find a counter to Eklepia. It's better to use it while it's still a surprise."

"So... we have to wait for Albert's group to get the last Eldricyte?" Lilith asked.

"More or less," said Julian. He opened up the previous day's newspaper. "Though we might as well head over to the last Eldricyte-holders and meet them there." He put down the page. "Which, incidentally, is where I set course last night."

"So... where are we now?" Lilith asked.

"Laugh at me all you want for my lack of information," Julian began. "But we are currently above Paris."

"Paris," Lilith repeated. "As in Paris, France? The first place we visited?"

"The very same," said Julian. "As it turns out, my original source of information was half-right. There was an Eldricyte here, but it didn't belong to Otto and Fritz. And I was wrong when I assumed it had been anted enough times to travel a continent. The ones who entered the tournament simply lived here all along."

"Let's go visit Otto and Fritz!" said Ray. "We can duel them again to see how awesome we've become since then!"

"Actually, we're pretty busy," said a voice from the ceiling, through static. "Mr. Nobel, can you switch us to a video feed? I'm guessing we're on the right channel, so..."

"Speak of the devil," Julian muttered. He walked over to a strange panel on the wall and flipped a switch. The panel opened up and a flat screen folded out, flickered briefly and then showed a grainy video of the goggled, messy face that the group recognized as Otto Hahn. "I suppose I'll have to wait to inform you about the finer details of privacy."

"Nice to see you guys again too," Otto replied. "But if you want privacy, you'll have to add some security to your radio signal. I can hook something up for... oh, that Lorelei card we bet against."

"Otto!" said Ray. "I challenge you! We won't lose this time!"

"Hold your horses, kid," Otto said, chuckling. "I didn't just hack into your ship's intercom to play cards with ya."

"So then to what do we owe the hacking?" Julian asked.

"Well, Fritz and I were readin' that article about you guys finding the real Eldricytes. Good job, by the way – you beat some really pro players. I'm sure you guys already know that the proest of the pros are here in Paris. That's why you're here, right?" Otto didn't wait for their reply. "So just earlier this morning, an airship touched down and we hear that it's got a tag-team duo and an old guy who's after the Eldricytes. Imagine our surprise when it turns out it's not you."

"They're already here?" Julian demanded.

"Yeah," said Otto. "I'm sure you're interested. Anyway, they do things differently than you guys. They went and invited Arthur Doyle and Jean Leckie up to their airship instead of landing. I figure they're hiding something."

"You don't say," Julian muttered. Then his eyes widened. "Wait, does that mean you – "

"Yeah, Fritz and I hacked into their intercom too. They haven't said anything worth hiding, but it's a really good duel so far." He moved his hand off-screen and flicked a switch. "And now I've punched it up to you guys."

"Why are you doing this?" Lilith asked.

"Boredom," said Otto, shrugging. "Well... Fritz had a better reason, but I dunno if he'd want me to tell – "

"That old guy's a loon!" said Fritz, his gasmask-wearing face leaning into the screen. "I dunno what you guys' business is with him, but I recognized him as the guy who tried to shut down our lab a year ago. Said the stuff we were doing was dangerous. Like we didn't know that already!"

"Anyway, I'm gonna close up the channel while there's still a duel for you to watch. Hope the info helps ya." With that, the screen flickered off.

"Tried to shut down their lab?" Lilith asked.

"Sure sounds like Albert Gewald to me," Julian agreed, flipping a dial on the machine. "But why he targeted their lab in particular, I'm not sure. A two-person lab in the middle of Paris doesn't seem like a prime target." Finally, the picture flickered back. "Ah, here we go." The trio got a view of four people on the top deck of a stationary airship. One of the duellists was a middle-aged man with a handlebar moustache – his partner was an elegantly dressed, similarly-old woman.

"Man, I love all these giant moustaches we've seen," Ray said, chuckling.

"Ray," Lilith said dully. "Look." She pressed her finger against the half of the screen depicting the other two players. One was a skinny, pale blonde girl. The other, an older-looking, tan, fit woman with dark hair. Their field was empty, aside from a familiar-looking winged woman with a whip-sword.

"Oh hey, it's Nephele and Demetria!" Ray said. "We should have a rematch against them after Otto and Fritz." He put his hand to his chin in thought, then came to realization. "Wait a second. They're the other team?"

"I tribute my two **Cloudian Tokens** for **Cloudian – Eye of the Typhoon**!" said the man that was presumed to be Arthur. The two puffballs that had been in front of him spun around each other, finally forming a gargantuan, blue cloud with a single eye. (3000 ATK)

"What are the life points at?" Ray asked.

"No idea," Lilith replied.

"**Eye of the Typhoon** attacks your **Winged Amazon**!" Arthur ordered; the cloud released a twister from its mouth, blasting away the winged woman. "However, by its effect, your monster was switched to Defence Position, so you don't take any Battle Damage."

"Then it's my turn!" Demetria said fiercely. "I summon **Amazoness Blowpiper**!" A woman leapt to the field, holding a blowgun. (800 ATK)

"Ah, I see," said Arthur. "You want my **Eye of the Typhoon**to switch it to Defence Position so you won't take Battle Damage again. Fair enough, but – "

"I'm not defending!" Demetria cried. "I activate **Twin Swords of Flashing Light – Tryce**," said Demetria. "I equip it to **Amazoness Blowpiper**. Now, she loses 500 ATK, but can attack twice per turn." The woman looked somewhat surprised as her blowgun was replaced with two tiny swords. (300 ATK)

"You crazy woman," The woman presumed to be Jean scoffed, unfolding a fan in front of her mouth. "You played much better at the tournament."

"Now, we have something to play for!" Demetria roared. "I activate **Amazoness Spellcaster**! This switches the ATK of an Amazoness with a monster you control. **Amazoness Blowpiper**'s 300 ATK and **Cloudian – Eye of the Typhoon**'s 3000 ATK are switched!" The woman's swords grew to each be twice as long as she was tall, and the giant cloud shrank to the size of a cotton ball.

"Wait, but..." Arthur began.

"**Amazoness Blowpiper** attacks **Eye of the Typhoon**!" Demetria pointed at the tiny cloud, and her warrior swung the sword through it. (2700 damage - 2000 LP) "**Eye of the Typhoon**isn't destroyed by battle, but that's okay. I have another attack!" The woman swung her other sword, again not harming the cloud, but the sword struck Arthur behind it. (2700 damage - 0 LP)

"Nice job!" Nephele said ecstatically, as the holograms disappeared. She gave Demetria a thumbs-up.

"The Eldricyte, as promised," Arthur said. He ruffled through his breast pocket and retrieved a white card. He walked out of frame.

"Thank you," said a voice off-screen. The body to which it belonged stepped in the middle of the screen. He was a tall, blonde man, definitely younger than Albert and George. Ray had half-expected a diabolical, twirly moustache and perhaps maniacal laughter as the man's plan reached completion, but instead, Albert was clean-shaven and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You've done it again," Albert said happily to the Ambrosia sisters. "Thank you so much."

"Any time," said Nephele.

"We'll land shortly," Albert called to Arthur and Jean. "First, there's one matter to attend to."

"Before even landing?" Nephele asked.

"Yes," Albert replied. His image on the screen turned directly to face the watchers. "Julian Nobel, correct?" Julian opened his mouth, but Albert continued, "Your communications aren't connected to ours, so you can't talk back. Just listen – and you as well, Ray Ashford and Lilith Huron."

"Ray and Lilith are watching?" Nephele wondered.

"Yes," said Albert. "This message is mostly for the two of you, Ray and Lilith. Julian should already know what I'm about to say. I understand completely why you're after the Eldricytes. I'm sure you already know about the Lymph Nodes, and how only a madman would advocate their construction. I'm sure Julian's told you that.

"Of course, if I was just a madman trying to destroy technology for the hell of it – like our dear associate Mr. Chapman – why would I have waited this long? The Eldricytes were given away months ago. Why didn't I collect them immediately after the tournament, or even more directly, enter it myself? The truth is, I didn't want to build the Lymph Nodes either – until just recently, when I realized what science was leading towards.

"Do you remember an experiment conducted by Otto and Fritz? The unfortunate experiment that resulted in the loss of Otto's leg? I'll reiterate – Otto accidentally split an atom, causing a chain reaction that released a tremendous amount of energy." Otto's words echoed through Ray and Lilith's minds. _"It's called nuclear fission," Otto said. "If I can replicate that experiment, and not blow any more of my limbs off, we might have ourselves a really efficient fuel source. It could change the world."_

"Julian, this is directed at you – how do you of all people not realize what happens when scientists develop something like this?" Albert demanded. "Your father accidentally invented dynamite, one of the most deadly weapons of warfare. What will happen when humanity uses this new nuclear power to develop weapons? What will happen when humanity creates an atomic bomb?

"Well, you might not understand, being only the son of a scientist instead of one yourself. I'll tell you. Nuclear weapons will be the deadliest weapon of warfare in the history of mankind – and the future of mankind. A single war conducted with these weapons could cause the destruction of the entire planet. We need to stop this now! Before it's too late!" He roared. "We need the Lymph Nodes now!"

"Ray, Lilith..." Nephele said, leaning in towards the screen. "I don't know if you're actually listening to this, but... don't throw away the world for your pride. Humanity... humanity's doomed without the Lymph Nodes!"

"If you've received this message, as I'm almost sure you have," Albert said solemnly. "Nephele and Demetria will be flying aboard your ship shortly. When the time comes, do the right thing. Until then, goodbye." His arm moved off-screen and the video feed switched off.

Ray, Julian and Lilith sat in stunned silence around the table, upon which still sat Lilith's half-eaten breakfast. "Ray, Lilith..." Julian said after what felt like hours. "This isn't my decision to make, however, I'll give you my thoughts on the matter." He swallowed nothing. "The Lymph Nodes, no matter Albert's reasons for using them, will kill hundreds of thousands – if not millions - of people. Some will die instantly in explosions from laboratories too close to them, some will die slowly due to being dependent on technology. I don't trust Albert Gewald, but..." He sighed. "I cannot and will not ask you to help me after this point. If you wish to leave, I will accept that completely."

"Isn't it obvious?" Ray asked.

"Yes, it is," said Lilith.

"We can't let all those innocent people die!" Ray and Lilith cried together.

"We have to stop the Lymph Nodes!" Ray continued.

"We have to stop the atomic bomb!" Lilith said simultaneously. Their eyes widened, and they looked at each other in horror.

"What?" They demanded of each other.

_Oh boy._Julian thought, forcing himself not to sigh audibly.

"Didn't you hear Albert? A single nuclear war will destroy the world!" Lilith cried.

"That's an 'if', though," Ray protested. "The Lymph Nodes _will_kill people!"

"Fewer than a nuclear war!" Lilith said. "Sometimes, sacrifices have to be made."

"Who are we to say who should be sacrificed?" Ray asked.

"Most of the victims will be scientists," Lilith said. "The kind of people who spend their lives making these horrible weapons! People who create things like nuclear bombs and the Lymph Nodes without any concern for the lives they affect. Someone has to do this! Someone has to stop scientists from destroying the world! Why not us?"

"You're scared," said Ray bitterly. "You honestly want to let possibly millions of people die because your dad tried to – "

"This has nothing to do with him!" Lilith screamed.

"It has everything to do with him!" Ray protested. He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought him into this. But... we have to come to an agreement. If we don't, we'll be on opposite sides here. So let's test our resolve the one way we know how."

"Ray, are you honestly – "

"We'll duel," said Ray. "If I win, we stop the Lymph Nodes. If you win, we let them be built."

"Are you seriously willing to risk lives on a card game?"

"That's part of it," said Ray. "But even if you don't agree to the terms, duel me. I have to know how serious you are. I promise you, though, if you win, I won't do anything to stop the Lymph Nodes."

Lilith sighed. "Can't argue with a win-win situation."

After Ray and Lilith had prepared, they stood apart in the room in which they had duelled so many days ago. Julian sat off to the side, watching quietly as they had their argument.

"Why do you want to do this?" Lilith asked. "I never said I was going to help you stop the Lymph Nodes if I lose."

"I told you," said Ray, switching on his disc. "I want to see how serious you are. I want to test your resolve against mine."

Lilith sighed again. "Not a useful answer. Whatever. Let's just duel." (8000 – 8000)

"You can go first," Ray offered.

_Man, he's acting weird today._Lilith noticed. "I set a monster. That's all."

"I summon **Solanimus Magmagician**!" Ray's fiery-red warlock took to the field, rolling a fireball between his fingers. (1900 ATK) "I'll discard **Solanimus Firewing**to draw a card... and then attack your monster!" It tossed a fireball at the card back, which flipped to show a hologram of a black-skinned fairy with wings made of water. (1700 DEF)

"**Sacred Sprite of Lunanima**," Lilith announced. As her sprite was incinerated, two more appeared. "I'm sure you remember – it Special Summons two from the deck."

"Of course I remember. Now, since I destroyed a monster by battle, I can Special Summon **Solanimus Firewing**from my Graveyard!" An eagle appeared. Lilith expected a phoenix, but only its wings were ablaze. (200 DEF) "It can't take out a Sprite by battle, so I'll end my turn."

_It's a Tuner, huh?_ Lilith asked herself, reading the card on her disc. _He must be saving it for Raging Dragon. How predictable._ "I activate **Ice Mirror of Lunanima**. Now, I add a Lunanima from my deck to my hand with the same Level as a Lunanima in my Graveyard. So I add and summon the Level 4 **Voodoo Princess of Lunanima**!" The dark-skinned, dreadlocked shaman appeared. (1000 ATK) "Her effect..."

"Special Summons **Sacred Sprite**, I know," Ray finished, as the voodoo lady dragged a bound and sewn-mouthed pixie from the floor.

"Now," Lilith said sternly. "I overlay two **Sacred Sprites** and **Voodoo Princess**! Goddess of night, cast the world into eternal shadow! Xyz Summon; **Gravity Queen of Lunanima**!" She announced, as her fairies and princess flew into a galaxy on the floor, and Gravity Queen emerged. (3000 DEF) "Now, I activate **Lunar Impact**, and I detach a **Sprite**to add a Moon Counter!" Almost as soon as the holographic night sky appeared, the moon lurched closer to Ray. "I set a card. End turn!"

"During your End Phase, I'll use my own set card. **Mystical Space Typhoon** destroys what I assume is **Moonlight Veil**!" Ray declared, as his card flipped up and a Twister carried away Lilith's facedown card – which was indeed **Moonlight Veil**.

"You didn't destroy my victory condition?" Lilith asked incredulously. "What's wrong with you? After all this time, you don't see Lunar Impact as a threat?"

"**Lunar Impact** isn't a threat at all!" Ray retorted. "It was never a threat. Neither was **Solanimus Raging Dragon / Assault Mode**, neither was **Hecate**. The threat was _us_ – but more than that! The threat was our desire to win!" Ray drew his card. "I'll show you my resolve! I tune Level 2 **Solanimus Firewing** with Level 4 **Solanimus Magmagician**!"

_He's not making **Raging Dragon**?_Lilith wondered.

"Dweller of the corona, eliminate all without the will to survive! Synchro Summon! **Solanimus Plasma Eel**!" In a flash of light, an enormous serpent swam out from the ground. It twisted and turned in mid-air underneath the artificial moon, burning with a fiery glow. (2500 ATK)

_I don't even remember that card._Lilith realized.

"**Plasma Eel**'s effect!" Ray said. "I select a defence-position monster and a Spell or Trap card you control. The monster switches to Attack Position, and the other card is bounced to your hand!" The eel released a shockwave of fire from its coiling body; the moon wavered in the air and disappeared, and **Gravity Queen**took a different stance. (1500 ATK)

"Dammit," said Lilith.

"**Plasma Eel** attacks **Gravity Queen**!" The creature released a stream of light from its unhinged mouth.

"Dammit, Ray!" Lilith reiterated. "If you're going to fight **Gravity Queen**, at least have the decency to use **Raging Dragon**! Not that it would help – I discard **Snowflake Ghost of Lunanima**!" The eel's attack struck only a cartoon-shaped ice ghost, shattering it. "And of course, that Special Summons **Sacred Sprite**." The remaining water-winged fairy was joined by an identical copy. (1700 DEF) "I think you know what this means."

"I do. End turn."

"Then for my turn... I overlay my two Sacred Sprites! Goddess of the frozen wasteland, cast the world into eternal winter!" The two sprites spiralled into a galaxy, and a snowstorm brewed. "Xyz Summon! **Ice Priestess of Lunanima**!" A human-shaped pile of snow compacted, becoming the pale priestess. (2500 DEF) "Ice Priestess' effect!" Lilith ordered. The priestess snapped her fingers; one of the two lights around her disappeared, and Ray's eel was suddenly encased with ice. "Now, I activate **Lunar Impact** again, and detach another material from **Gravity Queen** to add the first counter again." The ceiling became a night sky once more; the moon grew closer. "Next! I overlay **Ice Priestess** and **Gravity Queen**!" The two women hopped into a galaxy on the floor; as soon as they crossed its threshold, it expanded to fill the entire room. "Goddess of magic, to whom the moon is but a puppet! Cast the world into an eternity of unceasing shadow. GalaXyz Summon!" The pitch-black, silver-masked woman slowly emerged from the galaxy. "**Hecate, Witch Goddess of Lunanima**!" (3500 DEF, 4 Materials)

Ray crossed his arms. _So she does have resolve after all. She believes her choice is the right one. But I... I'm not wrong._

"**Hecate**'s effect!" Lilith ordered. Hecate snapped her fingers, and the moon moved forward another position. (2/7 Moon Counters) "End turn!"

Ray shook the doubt from his head. "I'll show you, Lilith. I'll show you that my belief is stronger! I activate **Solanimus Shockwave**!" He pointed towards the iced eel, which exploded. "This destroys a Solanimus monster I control. Then, I Special Summon a Solanimus from my deck with a level equal to or lower than half the destroyed monster. Appear! **Solanimus Vicious Hatchling**!" An egg appeared in the wake of the eel's destruction. It hatched into a miniature Raging Dragon. (800 ATK) "I can also draw one card."

"There's more, isn't there?"

"Right. When **Solanimus Firewing** is used as synchro material for a Solanimus, and then that monster's destroyed, I can banish **Firewing** in my Graveyard to bring back that Synchro!" Ray announced, as the Eel reappeared, slithering through the air again. "Its effect is negated, but that's okay. Now I tune **Vicious Hatchling** with **Plasma Eel**! I see your resolve, and match you with mine! Master of destruction, burn down everything in your path!" A huge explosion illuminated the night sky. "**Solanimus Raging Dragon**!" Where once was an eel now hovered an enormous orange dragon. It let out a roar as flames burned down its back. (3000 ATK)

"About time."

"I agree," said Ray. "Now, **Vicious Hatchling** gives **Raging Dragon** extra ATK equal to the ATK of the non-Tuner." (5500 ATK) "Not to mention **Raging Dragon** puts **Hecate**in Attack Position – it goes without saying I'm attacking!"

"It should also be obvious that I'll use **Hecate**'s effect, detaching a Material to activate **Moonlight Veil**!" Lilith snapped her fingers; a wall of moonlight appeared just in time to block a torrent of fire. (3 materials)

_I can do this. I have to. The lives of everyone affected at all by science rest on my shoulders._Ray told himself. "I set a card! End turn!"

"Why are you so sure this is the right thing to do?" Lilith asked. "Isn't the path that harms the fewest people the correct path?"

"My path does!" Ray argued. "Albert doesn't know what he's talking about!"

"Neither do you, clearly," Lilith muttered. "I activate **Gift of Moonlight**! Since I have two Moon Counters, I draw two cards." She stretched her hand up to the moon, where two cards flew into her grasp. "Now, I add another counter to **Lunar Impact**." Once more, the moon approached the ground. (3/7) "End turn!"

"Not quite!" Ray argued. "Almighty overlord of destruction, everything in your path will be annihilated by fires of fury! **Assault Mode Activate**!" He grabbed the card from his card zone and lifted it into the air. Armor burned out of the air and connected to Raging Dragon's wrists, shoulders and wings. Its horns became curved and wicked. "**Solanimus Raging Dragon / Assault Mode**! Now, I activate its effect! I destroy **Lunar Impact** and **Hecate**!"

"Well, you should know you're wrong about **Hecate**," Lilith argued. "**Moonlight Veil** again!" Hecate spun her scythe, deflecting yet another torrent of fire. (2 materials) "As for **Lunar Impact**, I discard **Illusionist of Lunanima**!" A blue-haired girl stood upside-down in the air. The fire aiming towards the moon shattered a mirror, but the moon had reappeared on the other side of the sky. "I can discard this card instead of letting **Lunar Impact**be destroyed."

"Then it's my turn," said Ray. "I can't explain why I know we have to do this. The Lymph Nodes... they're evil! We can't interfere with the natural progression of humanity. We can't destroy all of humanity's progress just because of what happens in the future!"

"That's wrong!" Lilith retorted. "How can we _not_prevent the apocalypse if we have the power to do so? This is fighting destiny! This is changing humanity's fate! We have to do this!"

"No..." said Ray. "you..." He clenched his fists. "I can't explain it. **Raging Dragon / Assault Mode**attacks!"

"**Hecate**'s effect!" Lilith countered, as there was yet another clash of fire and moonlight. (1 material)

"There's no guarantee humanity will go down the path Albert predicted!" Ray said. "Just because he said humans will create a nuclear bomb doesn't mean – "

"I've seen what scientists do!" Lilith cried. "They don't care about anything other than advancing forward with whatever twisted research they need! But it doesn't matter. The reasons don't matter at this point. You said you'll join me if I win, so that's what I'll do. Now that **Raging Dragon**'s in its /Assault Mode form, I can switch **Hecate** to Defence Position." (3500 DEF) "I'll also add another counter to **Lunar Impact**!" Hecate lazily snapped her fingers; the moon moved closer. (4/7) "I activate **One for One**. I'll discard **Wilting Lotus of Lunanima** to summon another from my deck." An ugly, dead flower popped up from the ground. (0 DEF) "Now, I banish **Voodoo Princess of Lunanima**to bring the first one back." A second flower sprouted. (0 DEF)

"I summon **Solanimus Blazing-Mane Lion**!" Ray announced, as a lion with a mane of fire pounced to the field, landing beside his armoured dragon. "This puts **Raging Dragon** up to 4000 ATK. And even though I can't attack, I can activate this – **Solanimus Soul Storm**! This destroys a monster you control with less DEF than the 4000 ATK of my **Raging Dragon**." The dragon launched an enormous fireball.

"No it doesn't," Lilith said. "**Hecate**!" The goddess swung her scythe, slicing the flame in half. (0 materials)

"I'll set one card, and end my turn. Please, Lilith. Listen to me. There's no guarantee humans will create nuclear weapons. Honestly, if you told me the choice was between a million people and the world, I'd be with you, albeit reluctantly. But how can you decide to sacrifice millions of people _guaranteed_to stop a future that might not happen?"

Lilith's hand, hovering over her deck, began to shake. "I..." She wiggled each of her fingers, but the shaking didn't stop. Then she clenched her fist. "I believe what Albert said!" She cried. "Humanity is doomed to repeat the same mistakes. There will be nuclear weapons! I... I just know." She drew.

"You don't know that at all!" Ray protested. "You just see the worst in scientists – in humanity - because of what happened to you. Because your father killed himself. Not all people are as awful as he was!"

"Shut up!" Lilith screamed. "Shut up! Don't you dare talk about what happened like you know what I went through! Your parents' death was an accident. You had the luxury of blaming airship pilots, airship manufacturers, random events that no one could predict! I knew exactly how my father died. He abandoned his entire family for the sake of some useless piece of junk! Don't you dare try to tell me how I should interpret that!"

"I never blamed anyone for my parents' death!" Ray argued. "You can't dwell on the past forever!"

"Looking at the past is what helps us avoid mistakes in the future. And I'm going to do everything in my power to stop nuclear war!" She finally drew her card. "I summon **Seadancer of Lunanima**!" A mermaid with a tail made of water appeared, but promptly exploded.

"**Solanimus Wild Explosion**," Ray explained, holding up a card depicting a dinosaur on fire. "Now, I can Special Summon **Solanimus Fireraptor**!" A red-orange dinosaur jumped onto the field; flames shot out of its back. (2200) "**Fireraptor**'s effect lets me destroy a card you control! I destroy **Hecate**!"

_Even if I use priority on Seadancer's effect, the Xyz Material won't reach Hecate until after it's already destroyed..._Lilith realized, as the raptor tore into her goddess. "Dammit!" She closed her eyes, but opened them again to find her father's laboratory. The duel disc on her arm was gone. She sighed; at least she was still her normal age.

"...directly into his brain stem," said a voice beyond the door.

"What the hell was he trying to accomplish?" asked the other man.

_Seriously?_ Lilith asked herself. _Let's just get this over with._She walked up to the door, but as she reached for the knob, a hand belonging to Ray caught her wrist.

"I won't let you open that door until you look into my eyes," said Ray, "and tell me that your decision to support the Lymph Nodes has nothing to do with your father."

"I..."

"Millions of lives are in your hands right now," said Ray. "I'm willing to risk the world on my faith in humanity. Are you willing to risk it on your own bitterness and hatred?"

Lilith thought. She leaned against the wall, staring off at one of the far corners of the room. After some time between minutes and hours, she turned back to Ray. It was a more calming environment than aboard the airship, where random machinery whirred and buzzed constantly. With actual peace and quiet, and no duel to focus on, Lilith finally came to her decision. "You are the biggest, dumbest optimist I have ever met. You're willing to risk the world on your faith in humanity? That's ridiculous." She sighed. "But so is hating a dead man for all these years. And helping kill millions of people because... because of what one man did to me years ago is even more ridiculous. I am the biggest, dumbest pessimist I have ever met."

Ray smiled. "Do you want to see what's behind the door?"

"Yeah," Lilith said. She put her hand against it; it swung open instantly. Lilith and Ray stepped out into a thin, white platform in the middle of an endless, black void. The platform split off into hundreds – no, thousands – of spiralling paths, leading off past the point either of them could see.

"Well, I'm confused," said Ray. "But it is your subconscious, so you tell me."

"This," said Lilith, spreading her arms wide. "Is the future. Infinite possibilities, infinite paths. We have no destiny. Humanity has no destiny. The only things that determine the shape of a path, let alone its destination, are the choices we make when we walk it."

"So, which path will you walk?"

"I have no idea," said Lilith. "But I'll shape it with this choice." She turned her head back to Ray. "I'll fight against Albert."

"_We'll_fight against Albert," Ray argued. "You're just backup."

"Oh don't even start!" Lilith said, laughing. "Is there any point in continuing the duel?"

"Up to you," said Ray. "I'll let you shape this path."

"In that case..." said Lilith, as the world snapped back to reality. Ray looked around as if a fly was buzzing around his head.

"What just happened?" Ray asked. "Did everything go all... void-y?" Lilith chuckled and switched off her duel disc. The holograms faded; Ray's disc shut off automatically as well. "Oh," said Ray. "I guess what I saw actually happened, then."

"Yes," Lilith said. She turned to Julian. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have based everything on... on my past. I'm going to give humanity what it deserves – the ability to choose its own path. I'm not going to force humanity to give up science."

"I'm happy for your sudden change of mind," Julian said, oddly knowingly. "Thank you."


	8. Flight 8: The Belly of the Whale

**Flight 8: The Belly of the Whale**_  
><em>

_Twenty years ago..._

"Julian, old chap," said a cheery voice from the door. "How goes your research?"

"Oh, hi Albert," Julian replied, barely looking up from a book that was probably heavier than the desk he was sitting at. "I'm not sure if you'll find it as interesting as what you're working on with my father, but there's actually a lot more information about this phenomenon than I thought."

"Come now, you know I find psychology just as intriguing as engineering," Albert said, walking into the study and glancing over Julian's shoulder. "What have you found?"

"Well," Julian began. He lifted up one of the small books off a stack on the ground. "This was about the Japanese blood type theory." He flipped to a bookmarked page. "The basic theory is that people with Type A blood are patient, calm people whereas people with Type B blood are passionate, wild people. But people with Type AB blood have both characteristics. They're adaptable. Though the book also claims they can be indecisive and prone to split personalities."

"I think you're straying a bit off your original theory, my friend," Albert shook his head. "You should be looking for pairs of people who have... what did you call it?"

"Sanguinis par. Partners of blood. This is the same thing, Albert!" Julian said excitedly. "If combining two opposite types of blood in one person creates a balanced individual, why wouldn't two people with opposite types of blood bring out the best in each other?"

"Yes, but you're after that... thing where people can flawlessly predict each others' thoughts? Soul Pact, correct?"

"My theory is still that two people who are too similar will have a hard time achieving soul pact because they project their own thoughts onto the other person too easily. Two people who think completely differently couldn't possibly confuse their own feelings for those of the other person. Though the mention of blood might just be a coincidence, it's one I don't want to overlook."

"Well, that's how we all start," said Albert. He glanced at his pocket-watch. "Hmm, I should get back to the others. George will go crazy if I spend too much time looking at psychology."

...

Ray, Lilith and Julian stood on the top deck of the _Eternal Eclipse_. "This is it," said Julian, as a distant speck came into view. "Remember everything you've learned from the duels against Otto and Fritz, Lise and Leo, Scrapman and Junkgirl."

"And the Ambrosia sisters already," Lilith added dully.

"Don't underestimate them just because you've beaten them once before," said Julian. "They just beat the winners of the tournament. They've gotten a lot better. It's possible they've improved at the same rate as you two."

"How?" Ray asked. "Lilith and I only sucked at the beginning because we'd never worked with each other before. How could Nephele and Demetria get better at the same rate?"

"Demetria said it herself, did she not? 'Now, we have something to play for'. Nephele and Demetria truly believe they're fighting for a good cause," Julian said solemnly. "They believe – they know – that they can't afford to lose."

"Resolve, huh?" Ray asked.

"Precisely." Julian turned to the ever-growing speck. It became obvious that it was an airship, but even when it looked as big as the _Eternal Eclipse_, it was still far away. It continued growing via approaching until it was obvious that it was several times the size of the _Eclipse_. It rose above their heads, for whatever reason, giving Ray and Lilith the opportunity to read the airship's name in large brass font on the side.

"_The Belly of the Whale_," Lilith read aloud. "Quite a mouthful."

"There they are," said Ray, holding his hand over his eyes to blot out the sun. Two two-seat ornithopters raced off the side of the giant airship's top deck and landed neatly behind the trio.

"Hello again," said Demetria.

"Will you give us the Eldricytes?" Nephele asked eagerly.

"No," Ray and Lilith said definitively. Nephele's mouth dropped open. Then she shook her head.

"Albert told us you wouldn't," Demetria said. "Hopefully we at least don't need to use this." She jerked her thumb to her ornithopter. An automated butler unit hopped off. "It's been equipped with weapons."

"It's just for self-defence!" Nephele added. "Albert had us take it in case the two of you tried to kill us and take the Eldricytes or something. We're not going to do anything like that."

"Oh," said Lilith, eyeing up the ABU, which simply stood silent and stationary.

"I know this is something that really shouldn't be decided through card games, but..." said Nephele. "Albert told us that if we lost, that was it. We wouldn't worry about the Eldricytes anymore. We're going to do this fairly."

"As are we," said Julian. "We never had any intention of threatening you." He paused. "I don't suppose you'd have any intention of listening to why we're after the Eldricytes?"

"Albert said you'd say something about how dangerous the Lymph Nodes will be," said Demetria fiercely. "And that we shouldn't believe a word of it."

As Julian shook his head and sighed, Ray glanced at Lilith. _Frankly,_ Lilith's voice rang through Ray's head. _threatening two people sounds like a good deal._

_We have to do this fairly,_Lilith's mind said, in Ray's voice.

Julian smiled knowingly, watching Ray and Lilith. Then he said, "Well, if words will move neither of us, shall we get this duel started?" He showed his Eldricytes; Demetria and Nephele each held up one too. "I assume there's no reason to have more than one duel."

"Winner takes all the Eldricytes," Demetria agreed.

"Albert said you'd be all right with that," said Nephele.

"Duel!"

Demetria began the duel. "I summon **Amazoness Swords Woman**," she said. A fit, tan warrior hopped out of her card and drew a giant scimitar. (1500 ATK) "I set one card. That's all."

Lilith looked at Ray. _I'm up,_ She realized. _We can't do the **Wild Explosion** combo._ "I activate **Moray of Greed**," Lilith announced. A dull green vase with a hideous face appeared in front of her. "By returning the WATER-attribute **Illusionist of Lunanima** and **Seadancer of Lunanima**to my deck, I can draw three cards." Holograms of the cards appeared and flew into the vase as Lilith drew more cards. "I set one monster... and one backrow. End turn!"

"My turn," said Nephele. "I summon **Harpie Girl**!" A young, blonde harpie appeared. She covered herself with her wings, as if embarrassed by the harpies' traditional clothing. (500 ATK) "Now, I activate **Divine Wind of Mist Valley**!" The ship's deck around them turned into an oddly-colourful valley.

_She's changed her deck considerably,_Ray thought.

_Yeah, using **Divine Wind** instead of **Harpie's Hunting Ground** is a big change. Be careful._Lilith's voice replied.

_Are you really going to be here all the time?_Ray wondered.

_Same to you._Lilith's voice muttered.

"I set two cards," Nephele announced. "and I end my turn."

_Three set cards. Be careful._Lilith's voice told Ray.

"Yeah, yeah," Ray said aloud. "I summon **Solanimus Blazing-Mane Lion**!" The beast with fur of fire pounced onto the field, letting out a roar. (1700 ATK) "**Lion** attacks **Harpie Girl**!" Ray's lion ran towards the nervous winged girl. As it approached, a draft of wind blew **Harpie Girl**into the air.

"Trap card – **Evasive Flight**," Nephele said. "When you attack a WIND monster, I can return that monster to my hand to end the Battle Phase."

"That's all?" Ray asked. "Okay then."

"Of course that's not all!" Nephele retorted. "When a WIND monster is returned to my hand, **Divine Wind of Mist Valley** lets me Special Summon a Level 4 or lower WIND monster from my deck." She pulled her deck out of her disc and riffled through it. "Here it is! **Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon**!" A small pink dragon flew out from one of the twists in the valley, landing neatly in front of Nephele and roaring. (1200 ATK)

"Right. That," said Ray. "Okay then, I'll set a card and end my turn."

"During the End Phase of a turn that a monster was returned to my hand with **Evasive Flight**, it returns to the field," Nephele explained. "Come on back, **Harpie Girl**!" The little girl fell down from the sky; Nephele's dragon flew up to catch her. (500 ATK) "And, still in your End Phase, I activate my other facedown card – **The League of Uniform Nomenclature**!"

"The League of what?" Ray asked.

"I select a Level 2 or lower Normal monster I control," said Nephele, pointing at **Harpie Girl**. "Then, I Special Summon two more from my deck." On cue, two more **Harpie Girls**flew through the valley, joining the original and her dragon. (500 DEF) "Baby Pet Dragon, by the way, now has all of its effects active." (2400 ATK)

_Good move,_Lilith admitted mentally.

"My turn!" said Demetria. "I'll match your lion with this – **Amazoness Tiger**!" A pink-and-white cat raced onto the field, but promptly exploded.

"**Solanimus Wild Explosion**," said Ray. "Your tiger is destroyed, and I get to Special Summon this. **Solanimus Shining Star**!" A human figure made of light stepped onto the field. "It gains 500 ATK by the effect of my **Lion**." (1500 - 2000 ATK)

Nephele glanced at Demetria. "I know!" Demetria said. "I'm on it."

Julian's eyes widened. _Soul Pact? But... they're sisters. They should be way too similar for Soul Pact!_

"I equip **Amazoness Swords Woman** with **Amazoness Heirloom**," said Demetria, as an amulet appeared around her warrior's neck. "**Swords Woman** attacks **Solanimus Shining Star**!" She ran at the starlight man, sword drawn.

"Not a problem," said Lilith. "My facedown – **Mystical Space Typhoon**. I'll destroy **Heirloom**." A typhoon flew around Swords Woman. She ran through it effortlessly, but her amulet exploded. "The attack still goes through!" Lilith reminded Demetria, as **Swords Woman**slashed through the star-man.

"You take the Battle Damage," said Demetria. "But..."

"Your monster is destroyed," said Ray, as **Shining Star** put its hand on **Swords Woman**'s forehead, and she burst into flames. (500 damage to Ray/Lilith - 7500 LP) "Me, I'm okay with that deal."

"Dammit," Demetria muttered, glaring at Lilith. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Fine, fine. I set a card. End turn."

_Demetria wasn't even looking at Nephele that time,_Julian noted nervously.

"My turn," said Lilith. "I Flip Summon **Potion-Brewer of Lunanima**," She announced; a witch in dark robes appeared, stirring a cauldron. (1000 ATK) "Her Flip effect lets me add a Lunanima to my hand. I'll take **Wilting Lotus**. And now... I summon **Magic Sealer of Lunanima**!" A young, blue-haired woman rose from her card beside **Potion-Brewer**. She held a small, pointy wand. (1200 ATK) "They're both Level 4, so I'll overlay **Potion-Brewer** and**Magic Sealer**. Goddess of the frozen wasteland, cast the world into eternal winter!" The two women hopped into a galaxy forming on the valley floor. "Xyz Summon! **Ice Priestess of Lunanima**!" The pale woman emerged; two lights circled her body. (2500 DEF) "I'll activate her effect." Lilith snapped her fingers; a light disappeared. "By detaching a material, I'll freeze one of your monsters, negating its effect. Obviously, the only threat right now is**Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon**." As soon as she finished saying the name, an ice cube formed around the dragon. "I set a card. End turn!"

"Good move," Nephele said. "Both of you were really impressive when we first met. I wish... I wish we were on the same side now."

"We still can be!" said Ray. "Listen to us about – "

"No! We can't!" Nephele cried. "My turn! I activate Winds of Change! With this, I can return two WIND monsters I control to my hand and draw two cards. I'll return my frozen dragon and a **Harpie Girl**!" Two twisters launched them up into the air, and they landed nearly in Nephele's grasp as cards. "By the effect of **Divine Wind**, I Special Summon **Harpie Lady 1** from my deck." A fully-grown, pink-haired harpie stepped onto the valley floor, towering over her two sisters. "Next, I'll play **Feather Dance**."

_Oh crap,_Lilith thought suddenly.

_Is it that good?_Ray asked.

"To activate **Feather Dance**, I have to Tribute **Harpie Girls**from my hand or field. I'll tribute three." Nephele explained, as the two remaining girls on her field disappeared and she discarded a card. "Now, for each one, I Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Harpie card from my deck. But there's a bonus if I tribute all three – one of them can be a Harpie of any Level."

"So?" Ray asked. "Are there even any Harpies that aren't Level... oh."

"I Special Summon **Harpie Lady 2**, **Harpie Lady 3** and **Harpie's Pet Dragon**!" Nephele announced, pointing upwards. Two more harpies flew down from the sky, screeching fiercely. Following them was an enormous, grown-up version of the little dragon from before, which bellowed a low roar.

"Now _that_," said Ray, "is a dragon."

"Let's calculate ATK, shall we?" Nephele asked rhetorically. "Lady 1 gives each WIND monster 300 extra ATK, so each harpie is at 1600 ATK. Then, **Harpie's Pet Dragon** gains 300 ATK for each harpie I control, and then another 300 from **Harpie Lady 1**– that's a total of 3200."

_And that's not everything, is it?_Lilith asked.

_She hasn't Normal Summoned yet,_Ray agreed.

"I summon **Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon** again," said Nephele, as a smaller version of the dragon appeared. Each **Harpie Lady** now held two leashes, three connecting to each dragon. (2700 ATK) "And now that I've summoned a bunch of monsters in one turn, I'm going to put them to good use. **Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon**'s effect destroys Lilith's facedown card!" The dragon let loose a fireball; it raced across the field.

"I was going to activate it anyway," Lilith said. "**Moonlight Veil**!" A shiny wall of light appeared around **Ice Priestess** and **Blazing-Mane Lion**. "Both of our monsters are protected from your bunch of monsters."

"Next turn, then," said Nephele.

"The three **Harpie Sisters** and both **Pet Dragons**. What an awesome field!" Ray exclaimed. "I summon **Solanimus Blinding Blade**!" A knight in white and gold armour appeared, readying a sword and shield. (1700 - 2200 ATK) _Now I can either tune **Shining Star** with **Blinding Blade** or **Blazing-Mane Lion** – whichever I pick will be revived, but have its effect negated. I'm gonna need **Blazing-Mane Lion**'s effect later, but it's a shame to use**Blinding Blade**'s effect before summoning **Raging Dragon**._

_It won't be a one-turn kill no matter what, since you have to get through **Baby Dragon** before attacking the big one._Lilith's voice replied.

"You're right," Ray muttered. "I activate **Blinding Blade**'s effect – reducing the ATK of **Pet Baby Dragon** by my lion's 1700!" (1000 ATK) "And now, I tune **Solanimus Shining Star** with **Blinding Blade**!" As the knight and star flew into the sky, he cried, "Master of destruction, burn down everything in your path! Synchro Summon!" He raised his hand as an enormous orange serpent descended from the sky. "**Solanimus Raging Dragon**!" (3000 - 3500 ATK) "And now, by the effect of **Shining Star**, I can Special Summon **Blinding Blade** back." The knight appeared from nowhere, readying itself for battle. (2200 ATK) He pointed at the opposing dragons. "**Solanimus Blinding Blade** attacks **Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon**!" Ray's knight raced across the valley and neatly cleaved the little dragon in twain. (1200 damage - 6800 LP)

"To fight back like this against all these monsters..." Nephele said, clearly trying not to grin. "Impressive."

"Well, this'll be more impressive! **Solanimus Raging Dragon** attacks **Harpie's Pet Dragon**!" Ray's dragon released an enormous stream of fire that flew towards Nephele's remaining **Pet Dragon**. As it approached, a tube with a question mark on it appeared and caught the fire.

"**Magic Cylinder**," Demetria announced, as one of her facedown cards flipped up. "This negates your attack, and..." Another cylinder appeared. "Fires it right back at you!" The second tube launched **Raging Dragon**'s fire back at Ray; it enveloped him completely. (3500 damage - 4000 LP)

"So you've still got some fight in you after all," said Ray. "I set a card myself. Turn end!"

"My turn, then!" said Demetria. "I activate **Monster Reborn**, to revive **Amazoness Swords Woman**." As soon as her warrior appeared, it vanished. "Now, I Tribute it to summon **Amazoness Queen**!" In its place was a much taller, older woman with an eyepatch and larger sword. (2400 ATK) "Now, I activate my other set card – **Amazoness Willpower**! With this, I Special Summon an Amazoness in my Graveyard. Be reborn! **Amazoness Tiger**!" Her cat launched itself onto the field, landing beside **Amazoness Queen** and roaring. (1100 ATK - 1900 ATK) "Finally, I activate **Amazoness Fighting Spirit**!" An aura surrounded both the tiger and queen. "Now, whenever an Amazoness attacks a stronger monster, it gains 1000 ATK. **Amazoness Tiger** attacks **Blazing-Mane Lion**!" The two felines clashed; after a brief brawl, only the tiger remained. (200 damage - 3800 LP)

_It's time,_said Ray, moving his thumb towards the switch that would trigger his backrow.

_Save it for later!_ Lilith's voice argued. _I'll handle this._

"With the Lion gone, **Raging Dragon**'s ATK drops back to 3000 – that's enough for **Amazoness Queen** to destroy it! Attack!" **Amazoness Queen**'s aura shone brighter, and it ran at the dragon. However, its sword slashed not a reptile, but a tombstone-shaped ghost of ice.

"By discarding **Snowflake Ghost of Lunanima**, I can negate the battle," Lilith announced. "And then, I Special Summon a Lunanima from my Graveyard. **Magic Sealer**reappears!" The blue-haired woman from before hopped out of her card, landing in an aggressive stance. (1000 ATK)

_If I had've done that on Tiger's attack, **Amazoness Queen** could've just destroyed **Magic Sealer**,_ Lilith considered. _Good thing we waited._

_Wasn't that your idea?_

_It's hard to keep track at this point, isn't it?_

Demetria sighed. "Fine, I set a card. End turn."

"My turn, then," said Lilith. "First, how about a change of scenery? I activate **Lunar Impact**!" The enormous valley around them became an infinite dark sky. "Next, I activate **Ice Priestess**' effect." Lilith snapped her fingers. The second light around Ice Priestess disappeared and ice rose from the ground to seal **Amazoness Queen**'s arms and legs. "Now, I summon **Voodoo Princess of Lunanima**!" A young shaman appeared beside **Ice Priestess**, yanking on a rope that went underground. (1000 ATK) "**Voodoo Princess** revives **Potion-Brewer of Lunanima**." The zombified witch appeared on the end of the rope.

"Three Level 4 monsters..." Demetria muttered.

"I Overlay **Potion-Brewer of Lunanima**, **Voodoo Princess of Lunanima** and **Magic Sealer of Lunanima**! Goddess of night, cast the world into eternal shadow!" The three women hopped into another galaxy that formed on the ground. "Xyz Summon; **Gravity Queen of Lunanima**!" From it emerged a woman with royal, dark robes and a silver sceptre. (1500 ATK, 3 Materials) "**Gravity Queen**'s effect!" Lilith snapped her fingers again; one of the lights flying around **Gravity Queen**vanished and the moon grew larger in the sky. (1/7 Moon Counters)

"Let's see it!" Ray said.

"Gladly. I Overlay **Gravity Queen** and **Ice Priestess**!" The two monsters descended into another galaxy. As soon as they were fully immersed, it suddenly expanded to fill the ship's deck. "Goddess of magic, to whom the moon is but a puppet! Cast the world into an eternity of unceasing shadow." From the centre of the galaxy emerged a pitch-black woman with a silver mask and scythe. "GalaXyz Summon! **Hecate, Witch Goddess of Lunanima**!" (2500 ATK, 4 Materials)

"GalaXyz Summon..." said Nephele. "Cool!" Demetria glared at her. "Couldn't help it."

"**Hecate**'s effect!" Lilith continued. "Each turn, it adds a Moon Counter to **Lunar Impact**!" Now it was **Hecate**'s turn to snap her fingers as the moon moved forward another stage. (2/7) "End turn."

"GalaXyz Summon..." Nephele repeated. "This is such an awesome game... but... I can't lose sight of why we're here. We're here to save the world! I'll make the two of you understand!" She drew her card. "I'll start with you, Ray. I activate **Chains of Taming**! This equips to one of your monsters, and we take control of it as long as we control either a Harpie or Amazoness. So, come on over, **Solanimus Raging Dragon**!" Chains appeared in the hands of each of her **Harpie Ladies**, and even the frozen **Amazoness Queen**; the other ends flew towards Ray's dragon.

"Sorry," said Ray. "But I walk the same path as Lilith. It's my decisions and hers that will change the future! I'm not going to walk anyone else's path!" He flipped the backrow switch on his disc and grabbed the card in it. "Almighty overlord of destruction, everything in your path will be annihilated by fires of fury!" He held the card above his head. "**Assault Mode Activate**!" The chains phased through Raging Dragon, as bursts of fire produced new blue-and-orange armour, and its horns changed. "**Solanimus Raging Dragon/Assault Mode**! When this card is Summoned, I destroy two of your cards. Good-bye, **Harpie Lady 1** and **Harpie's Pet Dragon**. Sorry!" He chuckled as Nephele's dragon and pink-haired woman burst into flames.

"No, I'm sorry!" said Nephele. "Because I expected that. I activate **Hidden Armory**! By sending the top card of my deck to the Graveyard, I can add an Equip Spell in my Graveyard to my hand. **Chains of Taming** returns, and I'll activate it again! Join me, **Solanimus Raging Dragon/Assault Mode**!"

"What the hell?" Ray cried as the chains linked neatly to his dragon's armour. It flapped its wings and hopped over to Nephele's field.

"We don't have to be enemies," said Nephele. "All you have to do is join us."

"Like hell!" Ray bellowed. "You're just blindly following Albert!"

"This isn't blind!" Nephele argued. "Besides, whose word do you have that the Lymph Nodes are dangerous? Just Julian's? Aren't you just blindly following him?"

"Julian isn't trying to kill anyone!"

"Albert's trying to save everyone!"

"Didn't we already say this is getting us nowhere?" Lilith asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Y-yeah, fine," Nephele muttered. "Anyway, with **Harpie Lady 1** gone, there's no sense keeping the other two Harpies. I activate **Polymerization**!" **Harpie Lady 3** flew into the sky, and **Amazoness Queen**burst out of its ice prison and joined her. "Ready, Demetria?"

"I've been ready this whole game!" Demetria said.

"The courage of Athena joins with the beauty of Aphrodite!" They said together. "Heaven and Earth become one! Fusion Summon!" An armoured, winged Amazoness with a whip-sword flew down from the air. (2800 ATK) "**Winged Amazon – Mistress of Earth and Sky**!"

_Oh crap oh crap oh crap._Ray's voice repeated through Lilith's head.

_Hecate's got four materials. Calm down. We'll just stall until we can take back Raging Dragon._

"By the way, while **Winged Amazon** is on the field, **Chains of Taming**can't be destroyed by card effects," said Nephele.

_Oh crap,_Lilith agreed.

"**Solanimus Raging Dragon/Assault Mode** attacks **Blinding Blade**!" Nephele ordered, as the bound dragon released a stream of fire. However, **Hecate**swung her scythe and diverted the blast with a wall of moonlight. (3 Materials) "I expected that too. End turn."

"Dammit," said Ray, drawing. "How dare you take **Raging Dragon**?"

_Ray, calm down!_ Lilith pleaded. _You can already get it back._

"Oh, right," Ray agreed, looking at **Blinding Blade**. "I summon **Solanimus Magmagician**!" A red warlock appeared in a burst of flame. (1900 ATK) "I won't use its effect. But I will use **Blinding Blade**'s, which clocks down**Raging Dragon**'s ATK by my magician's 1900!" The knight raised his sword again, and it shone with a brighter glow than before, and the armoured dragon shrunk (1600 ATK) "This is great – once I destroy **Raging Dragon**, I'll get back the regular version. **Magmagician**attacks!"

"You think I'd let my sister's effort go to waste that easily?" Demetria asked. "**Amazoness Archers**!" An army of women with bows appeared behind Demetria and Nephele. They fired a barrage at Ray's monsters. "All of your monsters lose 500 ATK, and they have to keep attacking this turn!"

"Dammit," said Lilith. "I activate **Hecate**'s effect, activating Moonlight Veil again!" Hecate swung her scythe; the now-1400 ATK **Magmagician** struck **Raging Dragon**with a fireball, but it didn't retaliate. The knight scratched its scales as well, dealing no damage to either team. (2 Materials)

"You missed your shot," said Nephele. "Anything else?"

"E-end turn," Ray muttered.

"Then I'm up," said Demetria. "When **Winged Amazon** is on our field, we can perform a specific Fusion Summon with only one material. I Tribute **Amazoness Tiger**!" Demetria said, as the tiger leapt into the sky.

"The forests' legendary beast will emerge from its slumber! Behold the union of dragon and tiger!" A furry, striped dragon fell from the sky, landing with a shockwave and mighty roar. "**Mistress' Tiragon**!" The beast walked obediently over to **Winged Amazon**, who grabbed a chain that appeared around its neck. (2400 ATK)

"So it's normally a Fusion of **Amazoness Tiger** and a **Pet Dragon**," said Lilith, reading the card. "That's interesting. Wait..."

"I see you got to that part," said Demetria. "**Mistress' Tiragon** gives all Harpies and Amazonesses 1000 extra ATK. But, since it's **Winged Amazon**'s pet, it gives her 1200 instead." The lone remaining **Harpie Lady 2** put its arm around **Tiragon** (2300 ATK) and the amazon harpie stroked its fur (4000 ATK). "Furthermore, **Winged Amazon**can't be targeted by card effects!"

_We have to get rid of three cards to get my dragon back?_ Ray's mind demanded. _Lilith doesn't have enough materials to last until **Lunar Impact**... this is bad._

"**Mistress' Tiragon** attacks **Blinding Blade**!" Demetria ordered, as the tiger-dragon released a stream of somehow-striped fire.

"**Hecate**'s effect!" Lilith countered; the witch swung her scythe and the fire disappated. (1 Material)

**_Blinding Blade_**_'s our only chance._ Lilith's voice rang through Ray's head. _You can still destroy the amazon by using **Blinding Blade** with **Fireraptor** or something._

_Right,_Ray's voice replied, not sounding convinced.

"I set a card," Demetria said lazily. "Your turn, Lilith."

"First, I'll add a Moon Counter to **Lunar Impact**," Lilith said, as Hecate snapped her fingers. (3/7) "Next, I play **Gift of Moonlight**, letting me draw two cards." She did so and smiled at one of them. "I activate **One for One**. I'll discard a lotus to Special Summon another. Next, I banish the **Magic Sealer** in my Graveyard to revive the first!" Two unhealthy flowers sprouted from the floor. (0 DEF) "While I have two, you can't attack either of our monsters. But I'll switch **Hecate**to Defence Position to be safe. End turn!"

"You can't defend from us forever!" Nephele said angrily. "You're going to have to face the truth eventually! I activate **Confusion Twister**!" A whirlwind appeared around Hecate. "If I control two WIND monsters, this negates a monster's effect until the End Phase. Also, you can't activate the effect in response to **Confusion Twister**."

"I'll clear the way!" said Demetria. "My facedown is **Offerings to the Doomed**! This destroys a monster, but skips my next Draw Phase. I destroy a **Wilting Lotus**!" One of the flowers exploded.

"Thanks," Nephele smiled smugly. "Don't think I'm done yet. I discard **Harpie Queen** to add **Harpie's Hunting Ground** from my deck to my hand. I'll activate it!" The pitch blackness was replaced with a cloudless sky. "Now, I activate **Winged Amazon**'s effect. I banish **Amazoness Queen** in our Graveyard to Special Summon **Harpie Lady 1**, with **Amazoness Queen**'s effect. But more importantly, since a Harpie was summoned, I can destroy that backrow of yours!" A pink-haired harpie returned to the field, bouncing off Lilith's field before taking her position.

"You have a backrow?" Ray asked.

"Since my second turn," said Lilith. "Luckily, it's chainable. **Half Moon**! This will halve all damage we take this turn." _And we're going to need it,_She added mentally.

Nephele closed her eyes. After a couple seconds, she opened them again and said, "I understand. **Harpie Lady 2** attacks your other **Wilting Lotus**!" The girl flew through the tiny flower, eradicating it. "With that gone, I can attack whatever I want. **Winged Amazon** destroys **Hecate**, as per Demetria's request." The two women faced off; **Winged Amazon**'s whip-sword shattered **Hecate**'s scythe, and Hecate herself fell to the ground.

_It'll be okay._Lilith thought to herself.

_Have you seen what we're up against?_ Ray demanded. _Does this look okay to you?_

_Go back to your own brain._

"**Harpie Lady 1** attacks **Magmagician**!" Nephele declared. "**Harpie Lady 1**'s at 2800 ATK, by the way – 1000 from **Tiragon**, 200 from **Hunting Ground** and 300 from its own effect." The harpie launched itself at jet speeds, piercing through **Magmagician**completely and drilling a hole through it with its talons. (350 damage - 3450 LP) "And Ray, I've saved your dragon for last."

"Forgive me if I don't leap for joy," Ray said dully.

"**Solanimus Raging Dragon / Assault Mode**! Attack **Blinding Blade**!" The enormous orange beast unceremoniously crushed the knight with its claw. (1800 damage / 2) "And now, since **Blinding Blade**'s ATK is less than 2500, you take an additional 2500 damage! Well, before its halved anyway." A stream of fire flew from **Raging Dragon**'s claw, striking Ray and knocking him off his feet. (2500 damage / 2 - 1300 LP)

"See?" Demetria said. "Your way would've brought them down to 350 Life Points, but this way we got rid of everything."

"Yeah, I didn't do the math beforehand," Nephele said. "I thought that attacking an attack-position monster with **Winged Amazon**would've ended the game."

"Nephele," said Ray, putting his hand on his deck. "You said that your dream was to go off on a grand adventure. Explore the world on a quest to save the world... something like that?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You see yourselves as the heroes, obviously," Ray continued. "But for that to be true, Lilith and I would have to be the villains. My idols once told me to be careful about the path we choose. That was good advice. Lilith and I thought long and hard about the decisions we should make. The path we should choose. Don't think we've been following Julian blindly. Once we heard about the atomic bomb, he told us we could leave if we wanted. We've been under no obligation to help him anymore."

"Then why – "

"Because we believe in humanity," Lilith continued. "Building the Lymph Nodes condemns millions of people to a definite death. The apocalypse Albert dreamed up will only come about if the world lets it. We have faith that humanity will choose the right path themselves."

"You can't convince us to join you right when you're about to lose!" Demetria cried suddenly. "You have no field, 1300 Life Points and you're up against an army. You're just trying to make the duel irrelevant!"

"My idols also told me to protect what was important to me," said Ray. "I can't honestly say that every human being is important to me. I can't possibly protect all of them. But what I can protect – what Lilith and I together can protect – is the future!" He drew his card. "And if it takes a miracle to do so, we'll just use a miracle! I activate **Miracle Synchro Fusion**!"

"We'll fuse **Gravity Queen of Lunanima**in my Graveyard..."

"With **Solanimus Raging Dragon**in mine!" said Ray.

Words appeared in both Ray and Lilith's head. It was both unknown and irrelevant who was coming up with them. They said together, "The sun's raging fires will become one with the moon's calming seas. Light and darkness, join together into one body – one soul. Fusion Summon!" **Gravity Queen** and **Solanimus Raging Dragon** flew into the sky. "Champion of Solanimus and Lunanima..." The dragon flew back down. It was covered in gold armour to the point where it was barely recognizable as the same dragon anymore. Its passenger was a woman in silver armour. She wielded a scimitar that looked about as big as herself. Her helmet opened in the back to reveal hair made of fire and water. "**Eklepia, Dragon Knight of Syzygy**!" (3500 ATK)

"Another boss card?" Demetria asked.

"We activate **Eklepia**'s effect!" Ray and Lilith said simultaneously.

"Once per turn, we can negate the effect of a card you control," Lilith explained. "And the one we choose is... **Chains of Taming**!"

"What?" Nephele demanded.

"If we can't destroy the chains, we'll just ignore them!" Ray said triumphantly, as **Raging Dragon/Assault Mode** flew back to Ray's field, almost dwarfed by the gold-armoured version. "This one's all mine, sorry, Lilith.**Raging Dragon/Assault Mode** attacks **Mistress' Tiragon**!" The two dragons clashed; Demetria's immediately exploded in a torrent of fire. "And now, you take 2500 damage, since your dragon thing's ATK is only 2400. That's a total of 3600!" (3600 damage - 2200 LP)

"With that, **Winged Amazon**'s ATK is back down to 2800," said Lilith. "Or, rather, 3100, taking into account the boost from **Harpie Lady 1**."

"And it's my next target!" said Ray. "Nephele and Demetria, prepare to be barbarized. **Eklepia** attacks **Winged Amazon**!" The two warriors clashed in the sky, whip-sword against scimitar. **Eklepia**'s mount released a burst of fire from its mouth and she cleanly sliced **Winged Amazon**in half. (400 damage - 1600 LP)

"And what would **Eklepia**be without Solanimus' favourite effect?" Lilith asked.

"When she destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to its ATK," said Ray. "Miracle created." The two halves of **Winged Amazon**exploded in giant fireballs. (2800 damage - 0 LP)

"I can't ask you to instantly believe us," said Lilith, walking over to the Ambrosia sisters. "But frankly, it makes sense that the Lymph Nodes will hurt people. At least ask Albert about it.

"Not that it makes any difference anymore," Julian piped up, as Demetria reluctantly handed him two Eldricytes. Julian snapped his binder shut. "Mission accomplished."

"Promise us this, at any rate," said Demetria. "At the first mention of an atomic bomb, build the Lymph Nodes."

"No," said Ray. "Humanity will move forward. I'm sure nuclear weapons will be built, but humans won't destroy the only world they have. We're stupid, but we're not that stupid."

"Idiots," said Demetria. "We ask one simple thing, a precaution to stop the apocalypse, and – "

"Demetria," said Nephele. "We lost. The Eldricytes are theirs. Whatever they want to do with them is no longer our business." She picked up her ornithopter. "Let's go."

Demetria shook her head. "We are building a bunker as soon as we get home." She muttered to Nephele, as she picked up her own ornithopter.

"Nephele, Demetria!" Ray called, as they flew off the side of the ship. "Despite the circumstances... it was a great duel!" Nephele waved back, as the two winged bicycles descended onto the giant airship below.

"Congratulations," said Julian. "It has been a long journey, but it's finally over. The Eldricytes are ours, and we will see the progression of science forever more. There will be dark times, true. But as long as we believe – " He was cut off there as the automated butler raced out of one of the ship's doors and barrelled towards the railing.

"Yoink," it said in a monotone, snatching Julian's binder and leaping off the side in one motion. Ray and Lilith ran to the side, watching as the robot landed neatly on the deck of the airship below.

"Did... did that actually just happen?" Julian asked.

"...right about now," said Albert, as the robot landed on the deck, binder in hand.

"But we lost!" Nephele argued. "The Eldricytes belong to Julian now."

"I'm sorry, Nephele," said Albert. "But the duel was simply a way to get all the Eldricytes in the same place. This is too important to risk on a card game, where luck and chance trumps true skill! The two of you clearly deserved that victory anyway – it was dumb luck that caused your loss." He flipped through the binder. "Don't worry about that. Now, we have what we need to save the world."

"They're going to come get the cards back, you realize," Demetria said.

"I had thought of that as well," Albert said. He knelt down to the robot and flicked some switches. "Nephele, you may want to avert your eyes now."

"What? Why?"

"This is for humanity's future," said Albert. He pulled a switch on the ABU's back and glanced towards the _Eternal Eclipse_. A noise like thunder crashed through the sky. The _Eternal Eclipse_rocked back and forth. Another thunderclap sounded, and the back of the ship burst into flames.

"What the hell?" Nephele shrieked. "What did you do?"

"Demetria said it herself," Albert replied. "We can't have them following us, correct?" He looked to Julian's binder. "I didn't want to do it this way, but... to save the world, I will sacrifice my former friend." He walked to the railing himself and solemnly watched as the airship spiralled through the clouds.

"My apologies, Julian."

"Goodbye."


	9. Flight 9: Abyss

**Flight 9: Abyss**_  
><em>  
><em>Ten years ago...<em>

"Albert, congratulations!" said Julian. "My father told me that you got the job."

"Thank you, old chap," Albert replied. "It was necessary – George and I can't keep living off your father's fortunes, correct?"

"A Duel Monsters card designer is impressive. Frankly, I didn't even know you could draw," Julian said, chuckling. "Well, draw anything other than machine parts, I mean."

"I'll need to brush up my anatomical drawings, agreed," Albert muttered. "It's a shame that I won't be able to spend as much time with George and your father in the lab, though. I probably won't understand some of the things they come up with without seeing it myself."

"Do you have a commission yet?" Julian asked.

"Yes, actually," Albert replied. "My first job is to design some cards for a future tournament. It's the Greek branch, though, and right now they really don't have enough players for tournaments. Could be years before the cards I design see the light of day, but the pay's good." He clicked open his pocket-watch. "Ah, I have a meeting with them in an hour. Good day to you."

"Good day, Albert."

_Five years ago..._

"Julian!" Albert roared, slamming open the door to the study. He ran over to the desk at which Julian was flipping through books. "Talk some sense into your father!"

"What?" Julian asked. "What happened?"

"He destroyed everything! He smashed the small-scale experiments with a hammer! Set fire to the blueprints! Dissolved the energy core in acid! Everything we worked on for fifteen years – gone!"

"I don't understand..." Julian said.

"He's gone mad!" Albert cried. "Please talk to him."

Julian leaned back in his chair. "I can't."

"What?"

"My father has told me nothing about the experiments," Julian said, continuing to write something. "I know nothing about what the three of you were building... but, my father promised himself – and me – that he would destroy any experiment at the first sign of being harmful to the world. He didn't want to repeat what happened with dynamite."

"He told you our invention was dangerous?"

"No, but it clearly was if he felt it necessary to destroy it," said Julian. "And I trust him."

Albert turned away from the desk. "It was going to save the world. Your father has doomed us all." He shook his head. "Obviously there's no reason for me to stay here any longer."

"My apologies, Albert," said Julian, as Albert walked dejectedly out of the study. "Goodbye."

...

_CRACK!_ cried the sky, as the back of the _Eternal Eclipse_ turned into fiery splinters. Demetria and Nephele watched in horror as one of the ropes suspending the main ship to the balloon snapped, sending it into a nosedive.

"I said you should divert your eyes," Albert said solemnly.

"What have you done?" Nephele screamed.

"Me? Very little," he said, patting the robot. "I simply had this little ABU here plant some dynamite on the _Eclipse_. Much safer than having either of you do it."

"But why?" Nephele corrected herself.

"I told you already, correct? We can't have them following us. They can't follow us without an airship," Albert explained, crossing his arms.

"You disabled their airship a thousand feet in the air!" Demetria yelled. "You've killed them!"

"No, they're alive," said Albert, flipping open an antique pocket-watch. "For a few minutes, anyway. Not to mention the possibility of them surviving..."

"It's not a possibility," Demetria said, grabbing her ornithopter. "Let's make it a guarantee. Nephele!"

"You read my mind!" Nephele said, climbing on her own.

"You're really going to save them?" Albert asked. "Risking your own lives to save people who would knowingly doom humanity to nuclear apocalypse?"

"We'll risk out lives to save the people who want to give humanity a choice," Nephele said. "I wish we'd realized they were right sooner. Demetria!"

"Let's go," Demetria agreed. With that, they wheeled their machines off the edge of the ship.

"Fools," Albert muttered, shaking his head.

-

"To think he would go so far..." Julian muttered, shaking his head. He, Lilith and Ray were clutching one of the remaining ropes to the balloon with all their strength.

"What do we do what do we do what do we do?" Ray demanded.

"There were ten emergency parachutes," said Julian. "However..."

"They were in the back of the ship, weren't they?" Lilith asked.

"Yes."

"How are you guys so calm?" Ray screamed. "We're going to die!"

_Whatever happened to the infinite possible futures?_ Lilith asked. However, Ray's expression didn't change from absolute fear, and she didn't hear any mental reply. "Ray. There's a way out of this. If we calm down, we can find it."

"There is no way out of this!" Ray yelled. "I never wanted any of this! I just wanted to help get some cards. Was that really too much to ask?"

"Ray..." Lilith began.

"I'm such an idiot! George was crazy, and you said Albert was crazier. I should've left yesterday! We should've just given Albert the damn Eldricytes!"

"Ray!" Lilith said again.

"I always thought it was heroic to go out doing what you loved. But I guess that's impossible unless you die instantly. No one loves falling to their deaths, do they?" His face was covered in tears, from some combination of the turbulence and shaking his head as he yelled. "Is this... is this really how my parents died?"

"Ray, shut up!" Lilith cried. "We will get out of this! Just shut up and trust me!"

"What are you, a miracle worker?" Ray demanded.

"If it takes a miracle to get out of here," cried Nephele, as an ornithopter landed on the inclined deck.

"Then consider us miracles!" Demetria agreed, landing beside Nephele. The two machines began to flap beside the rope which Ray and Lilith were grasping.

"These things are designed for two people," said Nephele, "but we can get a third on here if we're light enough."

"So, Ray and Lilith, get on Nephele's," said Demetria. "Julian, you're with me."

"That won't hold three people," Julian said. He shook his head. "Lilith, get on Demetria's ornithopter."

"But..."

"I'm an old man," said Julian. "Your lives are worth more than mine. Besides... the captain has to go down with the ship, doesn't he?"

"This is ridiculous!" Lilith cried. "We can get everyone – " It was then that Julian began climbing up to the back of the ship, away from the ornithopters. "Where are you going?"

"There might still be a parachute," Julian cried back. "Get going!"

"We don't have time," Nephele said, as Ray fumbled onto the other seat of Nephele's machine.

"Julian..." Lilith muttered, as Demetria pulled her onto her own ornithopter. The two aircraft slipped off the front of the ship. Julian waved from the door to the lower decks, and then disappeared behind a cloud.

"Okay, how does this work?" Lilith asked, as the ornithopter began to nosedive.

"Pedal!" Demetria barked back. Lilith did so, and began to see how her pedalling turned a gear that pulled and pushed a wire attached to the wings. "Good, just keep matching my rhythm."

"Got it," said Lilith. Ray and Nephele's ornithopter fell beside them. "Oh geez."

"Ray! Pedal!" Nephele cried.

"I am pedalling!" Ray protested. "I'm pedalling as fast as I can!"

"Pedal _with_ me!" Nephele said. "Screw it!" She began pedalling as fast as her legs would allow, finally matching Ray. The wings began to flap at ridiculous speed. The frame began to make unhealthy noises, but their descent did slow. The ground came into view faster than Ray would've liked. "Okay, stop pedalling!" Nephele ordered. Ray did so; the ornithopter gave a few last flaps before bouncing to a stop.

Ray rolled off the machine and onto his back on the comfortable grass. "We... we're alive," he panted.

"Damn straight," Nephele agreed. Lilith and Demetria landed much more gracefully a few feet away.

"Thank you... more times than I can count," said Lilith.

"We're so sorry!" Nephele cried. "We had no idea Albert was that crazy, we swear."

"What's done is done," said Lilith. It was then that all of them had the same simultaneous thought.

_Julian..._

-

"Those guys should be here soon," said Fritz, looking up from a communications system. "They left late last night, as planned."

"Good," said Otto. "But I have some bad news. Check this out." Fritz rolled his chair over to Otto, who was looking at the device he had used to hack into the _Eternal Eclipse_. "This is their altitude here."

"Zero," said Fritz.

"Yeah. All of their numbers were doing crazy stuff a while ago and their communications are down."

"Those poor kids."

"Let's get over there. They're just outside the city."

-

The crash site was not hard to find. Ray, Lilith, Nephele and Demetria followed a trail of smoke in the sky; it led them to a massive field of smouldering debris. Standing on the outskirts, on the last blades of grass that weren't smoking, Ray shuddered. "Julian!" He called out through the hell. "Are you here?"

There was no reply.

"Let's... let's start looking," Lilith suggested.

"He said he was heading to the back, so..." Demetria muttered to herself, heading off to one of the far regions of the debris. Nephele wandered off in the same direction. Ray stepped through the ashes. After a few steps, he picked up a piece of wood.

_That's the table we were eating on this morning,_ Lilith thought, glancing over at him as he tossed it aside and kept tromping through the wreckage. Lilith herself pushed over a support beam that revealed broken communications equipment. _What are we even looking for? Julian's body?_ She suddenly had the urge to cry, but fought it back. _There's time for tears later._

There was suddenly a noise of racing wheels. "Mush!" Someone cried. Ray and Lilith cocked their heads to the origin of the noise. Otto and Fritz were riding a gurney pulled by seven presumably-robotic huskies. "Mush, damn you!" Otto cried. The dogs suddenly stopped, throwing Otto and Fritz into the pile of debris.

"Close enough," Fritz muttered, dusting himself off. He looked up at the astounded faces of Ray and Lilith. "Hey, you guys are okay! I guess we didn't need the gurney."

"Julian... Julian is..." Ray started.

"We can't find Julian," said Lilith. "Can you help us look for him?"

"Yeah," said Otto, oddly happily as he began rooting through piles.

"Ray! Lilith!" Demetria's voice yelled. "We... we found him!"

"Is he all right?" Ray asked as he, Lilith and the scientists darted over to her voice.

"He will be," said a man, facing away from them and crouching over a body. "Julian's stubborn enough for this to work."

"Albert?" Ray and Lilith demanded.

"Obviously," said Albert, not looking back. "My goal was just to disable your airship. I never wanted to kill anyone."

"You lying son of a – " Demetria cried.

"Okay, fine," said Albert, cutting off Demetria. "I'll admit this was a lot easier with Julian dead."

"He's... dead?" Ray asked.

"Not anymore," Albert said, rising to his feet. "This is some technology George Chapman invented. Brilliant thing," He poked with his foot a brass sphere sticking out of the back of Julian's bald head. "It's full of micro-bots that repair damage all across the body."

"You're saving him?" Lilith asked, somewhere between sceptical and grateful.

"I have already saved him," said Albert, as Julian slowly got to his feet. "Meet Julian Nobel 2.0."

"Stay away from him!" Otto yelled; Ray immediately took back the step he had taken towards Julian.

"But why?" Ray asked.

"Vocal systems reinitialized," said Julian, in an eerie monotone. "Central nervous system stabilized."

"Ah, my old friend, good to have you back," said Albert, patting Julian on the back. The others stared in horror and confusion. "What? Have you never seen a machine like this before?" He messed with the sphere sticking out of Albert's head some more and added idly, "Yes, this is a very impressive device. So easy to install, too, if you're familiar with the brain like I am." He closed a flap on the sphere. "Do you still really not understand?"

"What did you do to him?" Lilith demanded.

"What _do_ the schools teach kids these days?" Albert asked himself. "My machine's taken over Julian's brain and body. He's now completely under my control." He looked at the group of faces in front of him. "Don't believe me? Julian... that's your Duality deck in your disc there, correct?"

"Yes," Julian replied.

"Give me **Ordinatus Rex** and throw the rest away." Albert said. Julian yanked the cards out of his disc. He riffled through them, passed one to Albert and tossed the remaining cards into the air. "Well, that was a bit more literally than I meant 'throw the rest away', but..."

"You freak!" Ray screamed, running at Albert with a random piece of metal.

"Temper, temper," said Albert lazily. "Julian?" Julian moved between Ray and Albert and wrenched the metal out of Ray's grip. "The machine comes built-in with a desire to protect whoever it's programmed for, so..."

"Julian, let me at him!" Ray pleaded. "Please!" Julian shoved him away with one hand, sending him flying back into Lilith and Otto.

"Enhanced muscle strength too," Albert continued. "George outdid himself on this one. Now, it's nothing to be afraid of if only a few people have them, but what if this were to be mass-produced? Imagine, an army of robotic zombie soldiers. This is another doomsday that will be prevented by the Lymph Nodes."

"It's not Julian anymore," said Otto. "I'm sorry, Ray."

"If you'll excuse us," said Albert. "Julian and I have something to start constructing."

"You honestly think we'll let you leave and do as you want?" Lilith demanded.

"I don't think you can do anything about it," Albert replied simply. "Can any of you fight Julian? I thought not." He looked around to the group. "Even five on one isn't good odds for you."

"Five?" Lilith asked, looking around.

"That red-haired boy ran off just now," Albert said idly. "This must have been a stressful day for the poor lad. Now, we really must be going. Come on, Julian, it's a long walk to the _Belly_..."

-

Ray ran. Even as his muscles screamed at him and his lungs demanded an explanation for his exertion, he kept running. He ran through a mess of trees, up and down a hill and finally to an uncrossable river. There, he sank to the ground against a tree trunk, crying. After a while, he heard footsteps. _They found me already?_ He wondered. He had been intending to come up with a good explanation while he sat, but had spent all the time crying instead. He raised his head, expecting to see Lilith; instead, a red-headed man and woman who looked about mid-30s stood above him.

"What's wrong, kid?" The man asked. "You're too old to be blubbering like a baby."

"You'd be crying too after... after a day like today," Ray said, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand.

"We've had our hard days too," said the woman.

"Look, pal," said the man, pulling Ray to his feet. "We've got ourselves a five-year-old son who's never cried as much as you were just now."

"What does a five-year-old have to cry about?"

"Nothing. But they all do, don't they?" The man asked. "Personally, I just think they're scared. No one likes finding things they don't understand. Imagine being a little kid, where you don't understand _anything_. Must be frightening."

"Let him be scared," said Ray. "The future is going to be horrifying."

"No no no," said the woman. "You know what's horrifying? The past. The past is fixed. Think of it like a test in school. One that's in the past, you can't do anything about that. Your mistakes are done. But a test in the future? You can prepare for it. You can do well on it – there's no point acting like you've screwed it up already."

"And what if we have no impact on what happens?" Ray asked.

"Everyone has an impact on the future, boy," said the man. "Because the future is determined by our actions. And that means the future is determined by our hopes and dreams. If you want something to happen, or if you want to stop whatever it is that's so horrifying, you can. If you're willing to fight for it."

"Are you willing to fight for it?" The woman asked. "Will you fight against the future that scares you so much?"

"I can't!" Ray cried. "I'm just one guy. I can't stop – "

"Then get some help!" The man said.

"You don't have to do it yourself," said the woman. "Find someone who's willing to fight with you. You must have someone like that."

"Y-yeah..."

"So do you really want to be the person who lets your comrade down?" asked the man. "Trust them. Trust yourself. You'll stop whatever it is you're so afraid of."

Ray nodded. "What are you guys doing way out here anyway?"

"Looking for our son," said the woman. "I could've sworn he went this way."

"Ray!" called Lilith's distant voice.

"Well... it looks like I have to go," said Ray, rising to his feet. "I... I hope you find your kid." He turned towards Lilith's voice.

"We already did," said the man. Ray raised an eyebrow, and slowly turned back to the couple – who had disappeared.

"Ray!" Lilith called again, hopping out of the trees and onto the river shore. "Why the hell did you run away?"

"Because I'm scared!" said Ray. "I just saw what my parents saw before they died. Then I saw one of my best friends die and get turned into a zombie by a madman." He clenched his fists. "I want to run more. I want to get away from everything. I don't want to deal with all this." He sighed. "But."

"But," Lilith repeated, crossing her arms.

"We have a job to do," said Ray. "There's plenty of time to be afraid later. Lilith, I'm sorry. Let's go get those Eldricytes."

"Well, that was easy," said Lilith, as they walked back through the trees. "I honestly thought we'd have to duel again. Maybe hallucinate again, that sort of thing."

-

"Found him," said Lilith, as she and Ray emerged through the trees, atop a hill. The Ambrosia sisters, Otto and Fritz sat around some strange machinery.

"That was really fast," said Nephele. "Did you know where to look?"

"Yeah," said Lilith, tapping her forehead in a gesture that no one really understood.

"People who wander off directionlessly tend to go in a spiral," said Fritz offhandedly. "So you didn't really go that far, Ray."

"Obviously," said Ray. "Someone who runs off without a direction isn't going to go anywhere."

"Sounds like you're back," said Demetria. "Ready to hear the plan?"

"We have a plan?"

"I know, novel concept," said Otto. "Now. We've fixed the old communcations array from the _Eclipse_, and then hacked it to spy on Albert's ship. The _Belly_ hasn't taken off yet. It's actually pretty close to where we are now, but Albert and Julian haven't reached it yet. We got there first, while Lilith was looking for you, and made sure to slow them down a bit."

"How?" asked Ray. The others answered his question as Demetria and Fritz tossed a couple important-looking bits of machinery onto the grass between them. "Oh."

"Now. That thing in Julian's head, it's not unique," Otto continued. "Yesterday or the day before or whatever, a couple of our former colleagues contacted us. Leo and Lise from Athens, actually, you should've met them. Anyway, apparently a couple of crazy people in masks dragged a woman in with the same sort of thing in her head."

Ray and Lilith glanced at each other knowingly.

"They were actually bringing over the part today," said Fritz. "They haven't shown up yet, but that's not the point. The point is, it's possible to disable and remove it." He inhaled deeply, making a weird sound through the gas-mask. "This is going to sound weird, but bear with me here."

"Okay..." Ray and Lilith said.

"The machines have no internal battery," said Fritz. "That's their weakness. That means they can draw power from only two sources. My heart and Otto's leg, for example, run off bits of sugar in our bloodstreams. It really is a neat system, but it's not one that can power something as complicated as an artificial brain. No, the only way it can get that much power is by drawing it from something electronic that the person has on them at all times."

"Such as...?" Ray asked. Then it hit him. "Oh, you mean – "

"The duel disc," said Otto, tapping his own for emphasis. "Julian's brain and duel disc share the same battery, and it's not a very big one."

"Stress the disc with a duel," said Fritz, "And there's a pretty good chance that his duel disc will sap all the energy that artificial brain needs."

"Won't that kill him?" Nephele asked.

"Honestly, probably," said Otto. "But – "

"Julian already died once to stop the Lymph Nodes," said Ray. "Right now, the only thing between us and getting those Eldricytes is Julian and his superhuman strength. We owe it to him to stop him."

"Well said," Lilith agreed.

"The hard part is going to be convincing him to duel," said Demetria. "He has the Eldricytes. There's no real need for him to duel at all."

"Well," Lilith said, looking at the machinery torn from the _Belly of the Whale_. "Only we know that."

-

"The airship has been disabled," Julian said emotionlessly.

Albert rubbed his brow.

"That would be our doing!" Ray announced dramatically, as he and Lilith stood atop a hill. They slid down and Lilith tossed a glowing piece of machinery onto the ground. "We challenge you to a duel!" said Ray. "Our duel discs are hooked up to this... flight disabling doo-hicky. As long as our life points are above 0, your ship won't fly."

"We wager your ship's ability to fly against the Eldricytes!" said Lilith.

"I see," said Albert. "That 'doo-hicky' of yours looks to me like a broken communications array. Correct?" He rubbed his brow again. "I am a scientist. Even if I can't create the Lymph Nodes from memory, I can recognize simple airship equipment."

"I told you this was a stupid idea!" Lilith hissed.

"It was _your_ idea!" Ray snapped.

"I accept the terms of your duel," said Albert, loading a deck of cards into his disc.

"What?" Ray, Lilith, and their four hidden allies gaped.

"I am... impressed by your honour," Albert continued. "I wish to eradicate science. Why, you ask? It is technology that puts humans on uneven ground. A skilled, honourable man with a sword will lose against an unskilled liar with a gun. I want a future where skill and honour is rewarded." He spread his arms. "The two – or rather, six – of you disabled my airship, and you still wish to combat me with skill and strategy? That is truly commendable. I will give you your final chance."

_There's something he can gain by this duel!_ Lilith realized. _Duelling us is as much a part of his plan as it is ours. But why?_

"Julian, my old friend," said Albert, as he stuck a second deck of cards into Julian's empty disc. "Join me in this duel."

"As you wish," said Julian; Albert's second deck shuffled itself in Julian's disc.

"Wait!" Otto and Fritz cried, leaping out from behind a tree. They threw something to Ray and Lilith – a small, rectangular box that fell between the two of them. It fell open and a couple Duality monsters spilled out.

"Julian's old deck?" Ray asked. He and Lilith each grabbed one and simultaneously threw them into Julian's disc. They stuck out at awkward angles, but then the shuffling mechanism took notice and reshuffled.

"Now that's interesting," said Albert. "What, are you hoping the sight of Julian's former deck can somehow break his consciousness free of my control?"

"It just wouldn't be right duelling Julian without Dualities," Lilith said. _Ray,_ she thought. _I'm not sure what Albert's hoping to get out of this duel. He's after something, but... we have to do this anyway._

"Lilith," said Ray. "Are you sure we should do this?"

_We can't talk mentally anymore?_ Lilith wondered. "Yeah," she muttered. "Just... now we have to win."

"That was my plan from the start," Ray argued. "Now..."

"Let's duel!" The four of them announced.

"I'll begin," said Albert. "I activate **Photon Veil**. Now, I return three LIGHT monsters from my hand to my deck." Three holograms appeared above his head.

"**Cyber Larva**, **Barrier Resonator** and **Watapon**?" Ray asked.

_Such random monsters. How much does Albert even play?_ Lilith wondered.

"Now, I can add from my deck to my hand three LIGHT monsters with the same name. The one I choose is **Dendritic My'Loid**." Albert continued; Ray and Lilith looked at each other and shrugged. "End turn."

"No monsters? No backrows?" Ray demanded. "What are you doing?"

"My turn!" said Lilith. _I need to lay down some protection before Ray charges blindly into whatever those Dendritic things are._ "I discard **Stargazer of Lunanima** to add **Lunar Impact** to my hand. Now, I activate **Lunar Impact**." The world around them turned pitch-black, except for the playing field which was fairly well-illuminated with just moonlight. "I summon **Voodoo Princess of Lunanima**," Lilith continued, as the young priestess emerged from her card. (1000 ATK) "**Voodoo Princess**' effect Special Summons the **Stargazer** I discarded." Lilith snapped her fingers as her monster dragged a zombified, mouth-sewn **Stargazer** from the dirt. (800 ATK)

"Two monsters on the first turn, hmm?" Albert asked.

_He really doesn't know how this game works, does he? Dammit, we need to prolong the duel. But... if he's up to something, winning comes first._ Lilith thought. "Next, I activate **Crystal Mirror of Lunanima** – with this, I Special Summon a second **Voodoo Princess**!" The dark-skinned woman cloned, and then the three girls became balls of light that flew into a galaxy. "I overlay my two **Voodoo Princesses** and **Stargazer**!"

"Awesome!" Ray cheered.

"Goddess of night, cast the world into eternal shadow! Xyz Summon; **Gravity Queen of Lunanima**!" Gravity Queen emerged from the light, holding her sceptre like a spear. (2500 DEF, 3 materials) "By detaching one material, I add a Moon Counter to Lunar Impact." Lilith said, as the moon came closer. (1/7) "Finally, I'll set a backrow and end my turn."

"A most impressive move," said Albert. "Hopefully my partner will match it, with his incredible duelling knowledge."

"My turn," said Julian lifelessly. "I set three cards in my Spell or Trap zone. Turn end." Ray shook his head in disappointment and Lilith sighed sadly.

"Look at what you've reduced him to," said Ray. "If you left him with his regular brain, he – "

"I'd blame the deck, actually," Albert said, stroking his chin. "Still, I do believe those backrows will be useful. I don't think it was a bad move."

"I do!" said Ray. "Against me, you need monsters!" _Well, normally, anyway..._ He looked solemnly at his hand, which at the moment contained only one monster. "Oh well, this will work. I activate **Monster Reborn** to revive... what did you detach, Lilith?"

"**Voodoo Princess**," said Lilith, as one appeared on Ray's field.

"Okay. And now I'll summon **Solanimus Shining Star**!" Ray announced, as his brightly-glowing humanoid appeared. (1500 ATK) "I tune **Solanimus Shining Star** with **Voodoo Princess of Lunanima**!" The two flew into the air, impacting and exploding into rings and stars. "Master of destruction, burn down everything in your path! Synchro Summon!" From the explosion descended a giant orange serpent with flames down its back. "**Solanimus Raging Dragon**!" (3000 ATK)

"Another powerful monster," said Albert. "Most impressive."

"That wasn't even a good move, was it?" Nephele asked dully.

"No, now he can't use **Shining Star**'s effect," Demetria replied. "I'm starting to feel bad about how good Albert thought we were."

"Solanimus Raging Dragon attacks!" Ray declared. The dragon released a stream of fire.

"When a direct attack is declared," said Julian. "I can Special Summon **Battle Fader** and end the Battle Phase." A pendulum-like demon appeared; its gong released a shockwave that cancelled the fire.

"Fine. I set one card. End turn!"

"Oh, then it's back to me," said Albert. He drew a card.

"During Albert's Draw Phase, I activate **Scapegoat**," said Julian. Four fluffy goat tokens appeared.

"Thank you, my old friend," Albert said. "I summon **Dendritic My'Loid**." A hideous mess of fibres appeared; it had a vague face in the dead centre that looked like it was screaming. (0 ATK)

"So that's the card he picked?" Ray asked. "It doesn't look too – "

"Ray!" Lilith cried. "Its effect..."

"Its effect is that its Level counts as 0," Albert explained. "Meaning, I can tune it and Julian's **Battle Fader** for a Level 1 Synchro!" The demon turned into a star that spun in place, having no rings to move through. "Creature dwelling within a mortal soul, the caller of abyss! Synchro Summon!" He spread his arms triumphantly as a column of light encompassed the entire field. "**Eldricyte – Lymphos the Summoner**!"

"So... where is it?" Ray asked.

"There," said Albert. He pointed to Nephele.

"What?" Nephele demanded. Suddenly, fingers appeared on her arm. They pried a gaping hole in her flesh. "What the hell is..."

"It's just a hologram," Albert said nonchalantly as two entire arms pulled their way out of Nephele's own. They flew over to Albert's field, still trailing muscle and vein all the way back to Nephele's holographic wound. The various parts twisted around each other and formed a giant mouth in between the two floating arms. "That," said Albert. "is **Lymphos the Summoner**." (2500 ATK)

"It's... creepy," said Lilith.

"No, really?" Nephele shrieked. "I hadn't noticed!" Albert began to chuckle. "What?" Nephele asked. "Am I that funny?"

"It has nothing to do with you," said Albert. "I was just pleased that my plan is working this well. Julian, please translate Lymphos' movements. ABU!" He called to the ABU on his ship, which quickly wheeled itself to the field. "Please transcribe." The robot nodded and one of its hands spun in its wrist until it became a typewriter.

"The core of each Lymph Node is a network of quadrupole magnets," said Julian, as the ABU copied down his words. "Six of these are arranged to create a cube, and six of those are arranged to form a hypercube. This amplifies the electromagnetic pulse produced by a factor of thirty-six, giving each node a maximum magnetizing field of three hundred forty eight meters at a power of 450,000 Gauss."

"Fascinating," Albert said, stroking his chin. "I'm sure you didn't catch that, so I'll explain. The Eldricytes' physical card contains the blueprints of the Lymph Nodes. However, I wanted more information. So, I set up recordings of the meetings between George and Alfred while I was away. All of the data they gathered is stored, not in the Eldricytes themselves, but in the holograms they project."

"I still don't follow," said Ray.

"It means that he's teaching himself how the Lymph Nodes work!" Otto cried. "If he has Julian decode all five..."

"Then I won't need the blueprints anymore!" Albert declared. He laughed briefly. "Oh, but there's no time to celebrate now. I activate **Lymphos**' real effect – once per turn, I can Special Summon a Level 1 Tuner in my Graveyard; however, it's Banished when it leaves the field."

"But you only have a Level 0," said Ray.

"Those effects are only active on the field!" Albert argued. "Be reborn! **Dendritic My'Loid**! But, before we go too far, I tune **My'Loid** with a **Goat Token**!" The **Goat Token** turned into a star. "Creature dwelling within a mortal coil, the torturer of the damned! Synchro Summon!"

"Goddammit!" Demetria screamed, as a demonic claw burst out of her stomach.

"**Eldricyte – Basos the Flayer**!" An arm, shoulder, and a mass of spiked tentacles made entirely out of bubbling blood flowed over to Albert's field, still connected to a holographic pool of gore at Demetria's feet. (500 ATK)

"Julian!" said Albert. "Translate **Basos**' movements. Teach me the second fifth of the Lymph Nodes' true secrets!"

As Julian rambled on about sciences that probably made sense to Otto and Fritz, Ray and Lilith looked at each other in horror. _We can't call off the duel..._ They thought simultaneously, though neither heard the other. _But..._

_We're all doomed if he keeps summoning these things!_

**To be concluded in the next Flight!**


	10. Flight 10 Finale: Revelation

**Flight 10 (FINALE): Revelation**_  
><em>  
>"Creature dwelling within a mortal coil, the torturer of the damned! Synchro Summon!"<p>

"Goddammit!" Demetria screamed, as a demonic claw burst out of her stomach.

"**Eldricyte – Basos the Flayer**!" A mass of spiked tentacles made entirely out of bubbling blood flowed over to Albert's field, still connected to a holographic pool of gore at Demetria's feet. (500 ATK)

"What do you think?" Otto asked Fritz.

"Well," Fritz replied, "Ray and Lilith are doin' pretty well. **Gravity Queen**, **Raging Dragon** and a backrow each. That's pretty solid."

"Lilith's used up a lot of cards in her hand, though," Otto muttered.

"Ray still has plenty. But the big concern right now is what they're up against. Three backrows and two Eldricytes." Fritz scratched his head. "What does **Basos** even do?"

"**Eldricyte – Lymphos the Summoner** attacks **Gravity Queen**!" Albert announced. The mouth hovering between disembodied arms opened wide and it began to scream ripples through the air.

"I activate Moonlight Veil!" Lilith said, as a wall of light appeared. The ripples halted on contact with the light. "No damage to me, and our monsters can't be destroyed this turn."

"Very well. I end my turn," said Albert. "However, **Basos**' effect activates." The tentacles shivered and boiling blood splattered across **Gravity Queen** and **Raging Dragon**. "It reduces the ATK and DEF of each of your monsters by 500 during each End Phase."

"Dammit," Ray cursed. (Raging Dragon: 2500 ATK, Gravity Queen: 500 ATK)

"My turn," said Lilith, as she drew a card. "Ray, I wouldn't mind being able to switch Gravity Queen to Defence mode..."

"Gotcha," said Ray. He flipped a switch on his disc. "Almighty overlord of destruction, everything in your path will be annihilated by fires of fury! **Assault Mode Activate**!" His facedown card flipped as he hoisted the real card into the air. Fire burned around Raging Dragon's joints, giving way to blue-and-orange armour. "**Solanimus Raging Dragon/Assault Mode**!" (3500 ATK)

"Even with **Basos**' effect, you'll be able to take out the Eldricytes during your next turn," said Lilith.

"I know, I know. Raging Dragon's effect!" Ray pointed to Julian's field. "I destroy your two backrows!" Two pillars of fire erupted on either side of Julian, burning away **Mirror Force** and **Dimensional Prison**. "Whew, good choice."

"And now for my part of my turn," said Lilith. "I activate **Gravity Queen**'s effect!" She snapped her fingers; **Gravity Queen** held her hands up to the moon and it came closer once more. (2/7) "With that, I can activate **Gift of Moonlight** to draw two cards." A couple cards flew from the moon and landed in her hand. "I activate **One for One**. By discarding **Wilting Lotus of Lunanima**, I Special Summon another from my deck!" A small plant burst from the ground (0 DEF), but as if she didn't notice, Lilith continued, "I'll also banish **Voodoo Princess of Lunanima** to Special Summon the Lotus I discarded." A second lotus appeared on the other side of **Gravity Queen**. "Ray, I'll leave the attacking to you and switch **Gravity Queen** to Defence Position." (2500 DEF) "End turn!"

"And with that, our defence is secure!" said Ray happily. **Basos** flailed; boiling blood splattered over all of their monsters.

"**Basos the Flayer**'s effect activates on every End Phase, of course," Albert explained. (**Raging Dragon/Assault Mode**: 3000 ATK, **Gravity Queen: 2000** DEF)

"My turn," Julian said emotionlessly. "I activate **Pot of Duality**." There appeared a hologram each of another **Pot of Duality**, **Mystical Space Typhoon** and an effect monster that depicted a skinless arm holding an eyeball. "I add **Dendritic Hemato'Poid** to my hand." The two Spells disappeared and the effect monster shrunk into his hand. "I set two cards. End turn." (**Raging Dragon/Assault Mode**: 2500 ATK, **Gravity Queen**: 1500 DEF)

"Well then, it's time to take out those Eldricytes!" said Ray. "I summon **Solanimus Blazing-Mane Lion**!" A lion with fur of flames leapt onto the field. (1700 ATK) "With this, **Raging Dragon**'s ATK rises to 3000. Now! **Raging Dragon/Assault Mode** – attack **Lymphos the Summoner**!" His dragon exhaled a stream of fire, much smaller than its normal attacks.

"Trap activate," said Julian. "**Synchro Deflector**. When a Synchro monster is attacked, this card negates the attack and destroys target monster."

"Fine," said Ray. "Blow up my Dragon. I'll get the original back!"

"That's why he won't," said Albert.

"The target is **Wilting Lotus of Lunanima**," Julian explained, as **Raging Dragon**'s fire curved backwards and incinerated a flower.

"You should've picked my **Lion**, at least. **Blazing-Mane Lion** attacks **Basos the Flayer**!" The lion jumped at and tore through the blood tentacle demon. It exploded into one last fountain of blood before disappearing. (1200 damage - 6800 LP)

"About time," Demetria muttered, looking at her now-whole torso.

"With that," said Ray. "Our monsters return to their normal stats! Well, **Raging Dragon**'s actually 500 ATK more than normal." (**Raging Dragon/Assault Mode**: 4000 ATK, **Gravity Queen**: 3000 DEF)

"Indeed," said Albert. "But you've given me another piece of the puzzle. When an Eldricyte is destroyed, I can tribute my Level 1 **Goat Token** to summon this. Creature dwelling within a mortal mind, the desecrator of sanity!"

"Hoo boy," said Otto, as something began to sprout from his forehead.

"**Eldricyte – Neutros the Twister**!" Albert announced. The thing became the upper half of a full-sized human, but it spun itself in ways that would be impossible for a real spine. The creature also possessed no holes for its eyes or mouth. (1500 DEF) "This card can be Special Summoned from the Extra Deck when an Eldricyte is destroyed! Now, Julian! ABU! Read and transcribe."

As the robot typed up Julian's elaborate scientific explanations, Otto walked over to the duel and stood in front of Albert. "The hologram was kinda distorting itself from that far away," He said. "Nephele! Come over here too!"

"Fine, fine," Nephele muttered. As she walked beside Otto, the bits of holographic muscle tissue flew back into her holographic wound.

"Very well," said Albert. "I can't assume you've gotten closer in order to attack me with Julian right here."

"Don't act so cocky. We're winning!" said Ray. "End – "

"Not exactly," said Albert, cutting off Ray. **Neutros** held its hands to its forehead and released a beam of light that shot its way through Ray. "When **Neutros** is Summoned by its own effect, it inflicts damage equal to the highest ATK among Eldricytes I control. That would be the 2500 ATK of **Lymphos**." (2500 damage - 5500 LP)

"Dammit. End turn," Ray muttered.

"And it's about to get better!" said Albert gleefully. "I summon a second **Dendritic My'Loid**!" A mass of fibres identical to the first appeared on the field. "With this and **Lymphos**' effect, I'll summon the fourth and fifth Eldricytes!" He laughed, but a loud _crunch!_ cut him off.

"Oh well," said Otto, one hand holding the ABU and the other holding its head. He tossed both parts to the ground where they sparked and died. "You'll have to start from scratch on these. I don't suppose you remember everything Julian told you, do you?"

"I..." Albert seethed. "This has nothing to do with memory! What I hear from Julian is understanding the Lymph System."

"So you don't need these," said Nephele, tearing up the partially-written notes of the ABU.

"Let's find out," said Albert. "I tune **Dendritic My'Loid** with a **Goat Token**! Creature dwelling within a mortal body, the render of flesh! Synchro Summon!"

"All right," said Fritz, as one of his eyeballs expanded, popped out of his head and hovered in the air. The nerve on the back of it coiled to be a spring and the entire thing caught fire. (2000 ATK)

"**Eldricyte – Basos the Burner**!" Albert announced. He listened eagerly as Julian explained some more science. "But then... how does... oh, forget it. I activate **Lymphos**' effect!" The **My'Loid** reappeared, but instantly disappeared. "I tune it with another **Goat Token**!"

"Oh geez," said Lilith. "Who's getting Eldricyte'd this time?" She looked around. "Julian?"

"Wrong," said Albert. "Creature dwelling within a mortal body, the consumer of freedom! Lilith. Look down."

"Wha?" Lilith asked. She glanced at her torso. Her stomach burst through her shirt, intestines trailing behind. "Eww."

"Me too?" Ray demanded, as his stomach too left his torso. The two digestive systems folded into a squirming mass that somehow had a mouth and oesophagus. (1000 ATK)

"**Eldricyte - Monos the Swallower**!" said Albert. Julian translated the thing's movements once more. However, by the end of the explanation, Albert looked no more enlightened. "That can't be! It doesn't make sense!"

"That's never a good sign," said Otto. "Science is perfection. If it doesn't make sense..."

"I'm still missing pieces of the puzzle," said Albert. "Perhaps... aha! Julian!" He snapped. "Keep decoding the Eldricytes' movements. **Eosinos** attacks **Wilting Lotus of Lunanima**!" The burning eyeball tossed its iris, which consumed the flower and incinerated it.

"There was no message encoded in its attacking animation," said Julian.

"Dammit!" Albert clenched his fist. "Regardless..." He sighed. "Let's just continue the duel."

"There's something we can all agree on," said Ray.

"**Lymphos** the Summoner attacks **Blazing-Mane Lion**!" The mouth between arms screeched; Ray's Lion exploded. (800 damage - 4700 LP) They then watched as **Monos the Swallower** burrowed its mouth underground. It brought back the Lion and ate it.

"Wait, we had **Monos** for a while," said Ray. "Its effect..."

"Yes, when an Eldricyte destroys a monster by battle, **Monos** gains the ATK of that monster." (+1700 ATK - 2700 ATK) "I'll set one card. End turn."

"Let's get serious," said Lilith. "I activate **Ice Mirror of Lunanima**. Now, I can add a Lunanima from my deck to my hand with the same Level as a Lunanima in my Graveyard. Both of my detached units were Level 4, so I'll take the Level 4... **Voodoo Princess of Lunanima**!"

"You run three?" Ray asked.

"It's a good card. I summon **Voodoo Princess**!" A third shaman-like woman appeared. (1000 ATK) "Her effect revives **Stargazer**." Once more, **Voodoo Princess** dragged an undead **Stargazer** from the dirt. (800 ATK) "And now, I overlay **Voodoo Princess** and **Stargazer**. Goddess of the frozen wasteland, cast the world into eternal winter!" Her monsters leapt into a galaxy; a brief snowstorm yielded a pale woman. "Xyz Summon! **Ice Priestess of Lunanima**!" The woman hovered in a cross-legged position. (2500 DEF)

"I see," said Albert. "I expected the red-haired kid to fight with everything he had, still believing himself to be on the right path. But you – "

"Shut up. You want to talk about right and wrong?" Lilith demanded. "You killed Julian, almost killed us and are trying to kill millions more people! I'd be horrified if our morals were the same! **Ice Priestess**' effect!" One of the lights surrounding Priestess disappeared. "I freeze that **Lymphos the Summoner**! Now, it can't attack, activate its effect, or be used as Synchro or Xyz Material!"

Albert crossed his arms. "You honestly think that was the best choice?"

"Yes. Now! **Gravity Queen** adds a counter to **Lunar Impact**!" (0 Materials, 3/7 Counters) "And now, I'll join Ray on the offensive. I overlay **Ice Priestess of Lunanima** and **Gravity Queen of Lunanima**! Goddess of magic, to whom the moon is but a puppet! Cast the world into an eternity of unceasing shadow." A galaxy appeared on the moonlight-illuminated field, rotating slowly. As the women jumped in, it suddenly expanded to fill as far as anyone could see. "GalaXyz Summon!" The pitch-black goddess emerged from the galaxy, spinning a silver scythe. "**Hecate, Witch Goddess of Lunanima**!" (2500 ATK, 3 Materials)

"It's in Attack Position?" Ray asked.

"2500 ATK is enough to take out some Eldricytes, and I can still back up the defence with her Materials," said Lilith. "**Hecate** attacks **Eosinos the Burner**!" The goddess appeared on the other side of the eyeball. After a second, the two halves of **Eosinos** exploded. (500 damage - 6300 LP)

"Three more to go," said Ray. "And I can take out any of 'em."

"I'm counting on you," said Lilith. "Also, **Hecate** adds a fourth counter to **Lunar Impact**." Hecate snapped her fingers and the moon grew to cover a good half of the sky. "End turn!"

"My turn," said Julian. "I activate **Monster Reborn**. The monster I target is **Eosinos the Burner**." Fritz's eyeball, which had just turned back to normal, burst out of his head once more and caught fire. (2000 ATK) "End turn."

_That was a really bad move,_ Lilith noted. _Picking **Baso** made way more sense..._

_Could the... battery... duelling skills?_ The tiniest whispers of Ray's voice echoed through her head.

"So... we're getting that back," Lilith said to herself.

"Let's roll!" Ray cried. "**Solanimus Raging Dragon/Assault Mode** attacks **Eldricyte – Monos the Swallower**!" The enormous, armoured dragon leaned back, charging a burst of flames.

_Why is Albert on the offensive?_ Lilith asked. _He had the opportunity to switch any of his Eldricytes to Defence Position as soon as Ray changed to Assault Mode, but he left them all in..._ Her eyes widened. _Oh._

"During the Damage Step," said Albert. "I discard this." A white-robed angel with golden wings appeared around the mass of digestive systems. "**Honest** increases the ATK of Swallower by the ATK of the your Dragon until the End Phase." The creature devoured **Honest**, growing to over twice its original size. (6200 ATK) "And it's far too late for **Hecate**'s effect. **Monos** counter-attacks!" The winding demon opened its gullet, swallowing both fire and dragon indiscriminately. (2700 damage - 2000 LP)

"Damn," Ray cursed, as a shockwave flew over himself and Lilith. "I forgot those were LIGHT."

"By the way, **Monos** gains ATK equal to any monster destroyed by an Eldricyte," Albert reminded him. "So, until the End Phase, **Monos**' total ATK is 9700 – it'll be a much more reasonable 6200 next turn."

"Oh ha ha," Ray muttered. "Your Eldricytes don't scare me. I'm going to move forward! Towards the future – the future I decide with my own decisions! And my first decision... you're going to take a lot of damage this turn. When **Raging Dragon/Assault Mode** is destroyed, the original returns!" He raised his arm; the unarmoured dragon appeared behind him. "**Raging Dragon** attacks **Lymphos the Summoner**!" It released a smaller stream of fire, though still large enough to consume the bits of flesh and mouth that had torn their way out of Nephele. "Furthermore, you take damage equal to **Lymphos**' original ATK!" (3000 damage - 3300 LP)

"And there's... three more to go again," Lilith muttered. "But we're making progress."

"Yup," said Ray. "End turn!"

"Hmm," Albert muttered. "I'll activate **Raregold Armour**, and equip it to my **Monos the Swallower**." The fused digestive systems of Ray and Lilith became encased in white-and-gold metal. "With this, you can't attack any other Eldricytes."

_Why's he protecting those things so carefully?_ Ray wondered.

_He's... plan..._ Lilith's voice whispered.

"Next, **Monos the Swallower** attacks **Solanimus Raging Dragon**!"

"You can't expect anything but this," said Lilith. She snapped her fingers; the goddess swung her scythe and a wall of light surrounded the dragon. "**Hecate**'s effect." (2 Materials)

"Of course I expected that." said Albert. "It doesn't matter. I activate my set card – **Graceful Revival**. Be reborn, **Basos the Flayer**!" Demetria sighed as the bloody monster tore its way through her torso once more and onto the field. (500 ATK) "I end my turn," said Albert. "And now **Raging Dragon** and **Hecate** lose 500 ATK/DEF." (2500 ATK / 2000 ATK)

"If you honestly think you can beat us by stalling, you're so wrong," said Lilith, as she began her turn. "**Hecate**'s effect!" The goddess snapped her fingers and, yet again, the moon lurched closer. (5/7) "I set one card. End turn." (**Raging Dragon**: 2000 ATK / **Hecate**: 1500 ATK)

"My turn," Julian said mechanically. "I activate **Magical Stone Excavation**. I discard two cards to add **Monster Reborn** to my hand." Two holograms appeared; **Duality – Cogito** and **Duality – Calco**. Ray and Lilith watched sadly as both cards crumpled. "Now, I activate **Monster Reborn** to revive **Eldricyte – Lymphos the Summoner**."

"Dammit," Nephele muttered, as **Lymphos**' arms ripped her own apart, and the demon reformed itself – a mouth made of bloody tissue between floating arms. (2500 ATK)

"**Lymphos the Summoner** attacks **Hecate, Witch Goddess of Lunanima**." The demon screamed a horrendous shockwave at **Hecate**, who calmly deflected the waves with her scythe. (1 Material) "End turn," said Julian.

"As you can see, we don't intend to out-stall you," said Albert, as **Basos** again splattered **Raging Dragon** and **Hecate** with boiling blood. (**Raging Dragon**: 1500 ATK / **Hecate**: 1000 ATK) "We'll simply make your ace cards useless."

_While infinitely reviving their Eldricytes..._ Lilith thought. _They've got all five back now._

_Leave it to me!_ Ray's voice cried, finally fully audible. "My turn!" He said in reality. "I summon **Solanimus Blinding Blade**!" A white-and-gold knight leapt to the field, brandishing its sword proudly. "**Blinding Blade**'s effect reduces the ATK and DEF of a monster you control by the ATK of a FIRE monster I control." He pointed at the enormous mass of intestines. "I reduce **Monos**' ATK and DEF by **Raging Dragon**'s current 1500." The knight shone a beam of light from its sword. (**Monos**: 4700 ATK/500 DEF)

_Ray, what are you doing?_ Lilith demanded. _I only have one material!_

"Calm down," said Ray. "I activate **Solanimus Soul Storm**! Since **Monos** now has less DEF than my **Blinding Blade**'s 1700 ATK, I can destroy **Monos** and you take the difference as damage!" **Blinding Blade** grabbed a fiery aura from around its heart and tossed it. The swirling intestines devoured the fire greedily and promptly exploded. (1200 damage - 2100 LP) "And now that **Raregold Armour** is gone, it's time to counter-attack. **Blinding Blade**attacks **Basos the Flayer**!" His knight charged the blood-monster.

"I discard **Dendritic Hemato'Poid**," said Albert. "This negates all attacks against Synchro monsters this turn."

"Dammit," Ray sighed.

"It also revives a Level 1 monster," Albert continued. "Be reborn! **Monos the Swallower**!" Once again, Ray and Lilith's intestines flopped out and formed a writing, floating creature. (1000 ATK) "Also, during your End Phase,**Basos**' effect!" (**Blinding Blade**: 1200 ATK / **Raging Dragon**: 1000 ATK / **Hecate**: 500 ATK)

"It's hopeless," Demetria muttered. "Albert can now run over any of their monsters with the Eldricytes... and Monos will just grow stronger."

_And I don't see any sign of Julian's battery running dry..._ Lilith thought. _This is bad. I can't stall for much longer._

_We are not stalling!_ Ray roared. _We are _winning_! For Julian!_

"Finally, I've assembled the five Eldricytes," said Albert. "In all honesty, I never expected the five holograms to give me all the information I needed to build the Eldricytes. No... there was simply too much information." He chuckled. "So I made another."

_Oh boy._ Ray and Lilith thought simultaneously.

"I overlay the five Eldricytes!" Albert cried suddenly. A blood-red galaxy appeared on the ground. One by one, the bodily horrors flew into its dephths. "Creature dwelling within a mortal heart, the final guardian of fate!" An enormous, red blob emerged from the galaxy – a human heart. Its valves ended in draconian heads, and a wicked, razor-toothed mouth opened in its centre. "**Eldricyte - Macros the Devourer**!" Five lights circled the heart-creature. (0 ATK, 5 Materials)

"Cool," said Ray. "With **Basos** gone, our monsters' ATKs return to normal."

"And we don't have our entrails hanging out," Nephele said, happily looking at her intact arm. "I'm all right with this."

"Did you guys forget why he wanted to summon it?" Lilith demanded as Julian continued to explain some workings of the Lymph Nodes.

"It's becoming clear to me," said Albert. "But let us continue the duel nonetheless! **Macros**' effect!" One of the reptilian heads ate a light. The mouth in the middle of the heart opened wide. "By detaching a Material, **Macros**devours one of your monsters – sending it to the Graveyard to gain its ATK."

_Not destroying?_ Lilith thought. _So Hecate is... is useless!_ She and Ray could only watch as **Raging Dragon** flew into the heart's open mouth. (3000 ATK, 4 Materials)

"You can use **Hecate**'s effect now," said Albert. "**Macros** attacks **Hecate**!" Each of the heart's heads breathed streams of fire.

"I will!" said Lilith. The final light around Hecate disappeared; she swung her scythe and sliced the fire in half. (0 Materials)

"End turn," said Albert.

"I'll add another counter to **Lunar Impact**!" Lilith said hesitantly. **Hecate** snapped her fingers, but as the moon moved closer, the heart's mouth opened again. "You..."

"I can activate **Macros**' effect during your turn as well, yes," said Albert, as the heart chewed and swallowed **Hecate**. (5500 ATK, 4 Materials) "Your effect still activated, though, due to turn priority. But I don't think it matters much now." (6/7 Moon Counters)

"I summon **Mist Shaman of Lunanima**," Lilith muttered. A blindfolded, talon-limbed woman appeared, covered in a sea of fog. (1200 ATK) "End... end turn."

"I set one card," said Julian; a backrow appeared. "End turn."

"I activate **Dragon's Final Gift**," Ray announced. "I banish **Solanimus Raging Dragon** in my Graveyard to draw two cards." **Raging Dragon** burst out of the Graveyard spot of his disc. He drew two cards as the dragon faded. "Though it's a bit of a misnomer, because I just drew **Solanimus Dimensional Tear**!" Claws appeared in the air; **Solanimus Raging Dragon** ripped its way back onto the field. (3000 ATK)

"It's meaningless!" said Albert.

"Is it?" Ray asked. "I activate **Solanimus Blinding Blade**'s effect to reduce Macros' ATK by 3000!"

"Then I chain **Macros**' effect," said Albert. "To devour **Solanimus Raging Dragon** – I'll gain as much ATK as I'll lose."

"Let me in on this," said Lilith. "I discard **Magic Sealer of Lunanima** – now, you can't target monsters we control this turn."

"And you didn't use that on **Hecate**?" Albert demanded, as a blue-haired girl appeared, standing with her arms wide between the heart-demon and Ray's monsters.

"**Hecate** wouldn't have beaten **Macros**," said Lilith simply. "Ray can!" _Now, take that ugly thing out._

_I owe you one,_ said Ray, as **Blinding Blade** threw its beam of light at the heart. (5500 - 2500 ATK) "And now... **Solanimus Raging Dragon** attacks **Macros the Devourer**!" **Raging Dragon** blew an enormous fireball that covered most of Albert's field completely. When it dissipated, the heart-creature was no where to be seen. (500 damage - 1400 LP) "And now, you take damage equal to **Macros**' ATK! That's game!"

"Ray, Macros' original ATK was 0," said Lilith.

"Right," Ray said. "Okay then... **Blinding Blade** attacks!" The knight ran across the field at Albert.

"Activate Trap," said Julian. "**Descending Lost Star** Special Summons a Synchro monster from our Graveyard, but its DEF becomes 0." The spinning mass of intestines **Monos** appeared one final time before **Blinding Blade**chopped it to bits.

"Look at yourself, Albert," said Ray. "You killed Julian. You messed around with his brain. You gave a dead, brain-addled man a deck he's never used before... and he's _still_ the one keeping your team in the game. Pull your weight! End turn."

"Is that really how you should talk to the man who will save humanity?" Albert cried. "All I need is a bit more information. One little tiny bit more data and I'll be able to construct the system that will change the world and prevent the apocalypse!" He angrily drew a card. Then he laughed. "And here it is. I put all the data I could fit into this last card." He slapped a card onto his disc. "Creature of mortal sin, the prisoner of fate, doomed to bring destruction upon the Earth!" All six Eldricytes burst out of the soil. Each spun around the others, interlocking into place. Finally, **Neutros the Twister**'s skin opened and enveloped all of the five. It grew at a shocking speed until it towered over all the onlookers. "**Eldricyte - Hemocytoblast the Usher**!" **Hemocytoblast** stood on human legs, at least twenty feet tall. It was simply a hairless, one-eyed man, but with a pointy-toothed mouth in a horrifically maniacal grin. (3500 ATK)

"All of these horrors," said Lilith. "And your ace card is just a one-eyed human?"

"What could be more frightening?" asked Albert. "The other Eldricytes? Horrific monsters that know they're evil. But humans... humans drive themselves forward, creating tools of warfare and destruction for no other reason than they believe they're doing the right thing. Humans will bring about the destruction of the world, still thinking they're doing the right thing the whole time! Unless visionaries like myself, George and Julian's fool of a father stop it! I will protect humanity!"

"Have you ever protected anybody?" Ray cried. "Nephele and Demetria, they saved our lives when you tried to kill us. Scrapman and Junkgirl, they protect all of Athens. Otto and Fritz, they saved each other with science. Leo and Lise, they went to ridiculous lengths to protect Athens from their experiments. Julian saved Nephele from falling out of the sky. And Lilith... Lilith saved me from giving up hope. She saved my resolve. Out of all the people I've met since I first stepped on board the _Eternal Eclipse_, you and George are the only ones who haven't saved anybody!"

"And yet, I will save _everybody_," said Albert. "Julian! Tell me the last secrets of the Lymph Nodes!"

"Understood," said Julian. He gave a brief lecture about magnetism, some spinning machines and listed ten cities across the world where the Lymph Nodes would be placed.

"Yes, yes..." said Albert. He laughed. "I can do it now! I can construct the Lymph Nodes! Thank you, Julian. Thank you, Ray and Lilith. In gratitude, we shall finish the duel."

"You're bluffing," said Otto.

"Yeah, we've been listening to everything Julian said," Fritz agreed. "The basics of the science was in there, but..."

"None of the specifics!" Otto continued. "Science is about perfection. Even if you understand the idea _behind_ the Lymph Nodes, it'll still probably take decades of research and experimenting before you can build them. And that's assuming you remember everything you've learned."

"Regardless, I still have the blueprints," said Albert. "Now, as promised, to finish the duel. **Hemocytoblast** gains the effects of all Eldricytes in my Graveyard. However, since it doesn't have any Xyz Materials, I can pay 1000 Life Points instead of paying the cost of Macros. (400 LP) **Hemocytoblast** devours **Raging Dragon**!" The enormous human grabbed Ray's dragon and stuffed it in its mouth. (3500 ATK - 6500 ATK) "Now, it's over.**Hemocytoblast** – "

"I activate **Moonlight Veil**!" said Lilith, as a wall of light surrounded **Mist Shaman** and **Blinding Blade**. "I figure **Hemocytoblast** would gain **Eosinos**' Battle-protection, so I have to activate it now."

"Indeed," said Albert. "Well, you've bought yourself another round."

"Damn straight!" said Ray and Lilith together.

"One turn's more than enough," said Ray. "Shall we, Lilith?"

"Sure," said Lilith. They walked over to the middle of the field. Ray stood in between Lilith and her arm and put his hand on her disc. "Draw it with me," She said.

"You got it," said Ray. Together they pulled the top card of Lilith's deck. "Just as I thought."

"Here," said Lilith. "You do this part."

"I'd be honoured," said Ray. "We activate..."

"**Miracle Synchro Fusion**!" They announced together.

"I fuse **Solanimus Raging Dragon** in my Graveyard," said Ray.

"With **Hecate, Witch Goddess of Lunanima** in mine," Lilith continued.

They said together, "The sun's raging fires will become one with the moon's calming seas. Light and darkness, join together into one body – one soul. Fusion Summon!" Raging Dragon flew back to the field. Gold armour appeared and encased it completely. It roared as Hecate descended from the pitch-black sky. Her scythe became an enormous scimitar, her pitch-black robes transformed into silver armour and her hair became half fire and half water. "**Eklepia, Dragon Knight of Syzygy**!" (3500 ATK)

"Once per turn, **Eklepia** can negate one of your card's effects until the End Phase!" Lilith said. She snapped her fingers as **Eklepia** swung her scimitar. An enormous iceberg encased **Hemocytoblast**. (6500 ATK - 3500 ATK)

"Time to attack!" said Ray. "**Eklepia** – go!" He ordered. The warrior woman raised her enormous sword. She swung it down, cutting through the air and sending a ripple through the air. It was met with a jet of flame from her dragon mount. **Hemocytoblast** took the attacks in the torso, but as it fell, grabbed **Eklepia** and the dragon in its hand.

"They both have the same ATK," Albert said solemnly. "So both are destroyed."

"Normally, **Eklepia** would inflict **Hemocytoblast**'s ATK as damage to you," said Ray. "But she needs to remain on the field to resolve that effect."

"Then why?" Demetria demanded. "You've banished your ace cards and destroyed **Eklepia**! For what?"

"Better yet," Albert continued. "During my Standby Phase, I can Banish **Hemocytoblast** in my Graveyard to Special Summon as many Eldricytes as possible. Once it reaches my Standby Phase, it's over!"

"No, it's over now!" Ray and Lilith said together.

"We can Banish **Eklepia** from my Graveyard to Special Summon one Banished Solanimus and one Banished Lunanima," said Lilith. A ghostly, transparent **Eklepia** flew out from nowhere and dissolved, leaving behind **Hecate** and**Solanimus Raging Dragon**. **Hecate** spun her silver scythe threateningly; **Raging Dragon** roared and flapped its enormous wings.

"And now this is your job," said Ray.

"Of course," said Lilith. She looked up at the moon. "**Hecate**'s effect adds the final Moon Counter. **Lunar Impact**!" The goddess snapped her fingers. The moon finally fell completely, landing such that a wall of rock stuck out from the ground right in front of Ray and Lilith's toes. Finally, the holograms faded. As the moon disappeared, Ray and Lilith could once again see Albert and Julian. Albert had a frenzied look on his face.

"I'll admit, my plan failed," he said. "Despite everything, I still need the blueprints to construct the Lymph Nodes. But..." He grabbed the five Synchros from his disc. "Do you honestly think I'd give these up on a simple bet? These are still mine! I will construct the Nodes! I _will_ save humanity!"

"Oh really?" Demetria asked, kicking out Albert's legs. As he fell, Nephele snatched the cards out of his hand and passed them to Lilith.

"Julian," Albert snapped, rising to his feet. "Eliminate these brats." There was no reply. "Julian!"

"Whew, just in time," Otto said, walking over to the stationary Julian. He inspected the brass sphere in the back of his head. Then he poked Julian in the forehead, pushing him to the ground. "Yup, no power left."

"Can you fix him?" Ray asked. "We can pay!" He grabbed Julian's deck box off the ground – some of his ante cards were in it as well. Ray grabbed one. "Here's Lorelei, that card you bet against! Please, can you take that thing out of him?"

"Ray, Ray, Ray," said Fritz, patting Ray on the back. "You actually expect us to accept payment for saving the life of the man who died trying to protect all of science?" He snatched the card. "No backsies."

"This isn't over!" Albert cried, struggling against Nephele and Demetria pinning him down.

"Actually," said Lilith, passing the Eldricytes around to Ray, Otto and Fritz.

"It is over," Ray agreed, as the four of them tore the cards into pieces. Ray and Lilith each grabbed a side of the last, Monos the Swallower, and ripped it in half together.

"You idiots!" Albert screamed in fury. "You've doomed humanity! You've allowed humanity – "

"The ability to make a choice!" Ray snapped.

"The freedom of an undetermined tomorrow!" Lilith continued.

"All of the wonders that science will continue to provide," said Otto. Fritz nodded in assent.

"What should we do with him now?" Demetria asked; but as she finished asking, an _Eclipse_-sized airship descended onto the field.

"Marvellous timing," said Otto. A hatch opened, and out stepped Leo and Lise. "We've been waiting all day. But honestly, I wasn't expecting you two. I was actually – "

"No, they're here too," Lise said, rubbing her forehead. A red blur and blue blur somersaulted out of the hatch.

"When the sun sets and the crimes of night befall Athens," announced Scrapman.

"It is we who punish evildoers! It is we who deliver justice!" Junkgirl continued.

"We are the axle – "

"We're not even in Athens anymore!" Lise cried.

"That's true!" said Scrapman, snapping his fingers. "We need a new motto."

"All of you agree?" Albert demanded, as Nephele and Demetria passed him off to the superheroes. "All of you are willing to let humanity keep advancing technology? The nuclear bomb was just the start! If science keeps creating new ways for humans to kill each other..."

"We'll create just as many ways to save each other," Leo concluded, arms crossed.

"And who are you to talk about inventing something that kills people after trying to build those Lymph Nodes?" Lise asked.

"I am the saviour of humanity!" Albert roared. "What are a few lives compared to the world? Someone has to keep humans on the right course! But now that I can't build the Lymph Nodes, we're all doomed!" He kept screaming even as Scrapman and Junkgirl dragged him deeper into the new airship. "But... perhaps it is not too late! I do understand the inner workings of the Lymph Nodes. Yes... it's not over! I am the man who's going to save humanity!" His voice was drowned out as he descended further into the ship.

"Julian was right, as usual," said Ray.

"Albert really was the crazy one," Lilith agreed.

"All right, got him?" Otto asked, as Fritz grabbed Julian's legs.

"Yeah, got him," Fritz said, as they loaded him onto a trolley. "Leo, Lise... we could use your help for this."

"Of course," said Lise. She and Leo tried to grab a corner of the trolley, but Otto and Fritz had started sprinting with it back to the city at break-neck speed. "Incoming, incoming!" Otto and Fritz cried, rushing Julian's lifeless, partly-mechanical body out of view. Leo and Lise chased after them, screaming unkind words.

-

Ray, Lilith and the Ambrosia sisters waited on the balcony of Otto and Fritz's laboratory, watching the sun set over tea, as the scientists worked on Julian inside.

"I know this goes without saying, but... you were right," said Nephele, after a long pause.

"We're so sorry," said Demetria. "We had no idea he..."

"You chose the path you thought was right," said Ray. "That's nothing to be ashamed of." His voice still sounded pessimistic and dark.

"I'm sure Julian will be all right," said Lilith.

"Y-yeah," Ray muttered, turning back towards the sunset.

"So... what are you guys going to do now?" Nephele asked, subtly trying to change the subject.

"I haven't thought about it. But I think we've earned some relaxation time. All of us." said Lilith, taking a sip of tea.

"We should move in together," Ray said, off-handedly. Lilith spat out her tea.

"What?"

"We should be roommates," Ray reiterated. "You live alone now, right?"

"Yeah, but – "

"Me too. Obviously, being an only child and orphan and whatnot," Ray continued. "I don't know about you, but it's pretty lonely."

"Don't you live in Ireland? I live in Britain. That's kind of a long ways..."

"Exactly! We'd never see each other otherwise. Ah well, just think about it." Ray said. He turned back to the group, to see that the Ambrosia sisters were giggling. "What?"

"Nothing!" They said simultaneously.

"Oi! Kids!" Otto's voice called from inside. "We're all done tinkering around with Julian's brain. Now he wants to talk to ya – Ambrosia sisters first. Get in here!"

-

After finally waiting their turn, Ray and Lilith ran into a workshop that had clearly only been made an operating room by shoving a few experiments off to the side. "Is he really okay?" Ray demanded.

"I've... felt better," said Julian, finally with some emotion. "But all things considered, I'm better than I could be."

"Those micro-robots healed a lot of the damage caused by the crash," said Fritz. "They even fixed his brain cells after we took out the... whatever that thing is called."

"To be honest," said Lise. "He wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Albert."

"Well, don't go sending him any gifts of gratitude," Julian said dully. "After all, I wouldn't have been dead without him either."

"We'll take our leave," said Leo.

"We will?" Otto asked. Leo and Lise dragged him and Fritz out of the room, despite Otto's protests. "I wanted to see what they were going to say..."

"You can't see what people say! It's hear!" Lise argued.

Julian chuckled, then sighed. "I believe this goes without saying, but I am so proud of you two. You saved the world and even got me back to normal."

"We got lucky," said Lilith. "A lot."

"Perhaps," Julian agreed. "And I am proud of your luck. But also your skill, teamwork and resolve. Especially the teamwork. Not everyone could have pulled off what you two did. Anyway, on to business."

"Business?" Ray asked.

"Firstly, your payment for the job," said Julian. "I fear I'll be bed-ridden for a few days or weeks, but I'll have my butler give you your money as soon as possible."

"Don't worry about that now," said Lilith. "We'll wait. Just get better."

"Thank you. Now, I've added in a bit of a bonus. I've commissioned a new airship, which I'd like the two of you to have. Currently, it's called the _Eternal Eclipse II_, but I understand if you want to change the name considering what happened to its predecessor. Talk to Nephele and Demetria before they finish the nameplate."

"What?" Ray and Lilith demanded.

"Consider this a 'saved-my-life' bonus," Julian said, chuckling. "It's bigger than the old _Eclipse_ – certainly big enough to live comfortably in. You'd be able to fly your house around to tournaments. Let me tell you, tag-team tournaments have better prizes."

"Isn't this a little... sudden?" Lilith asked. "You're basically asking us to live together."

"There are other arrangements," said Julian. "But..."

"It sounds great," Lilith said eagerly.

"Seriously?" Ray asked.

"Yeah. I didn't really want to say it in front of the Ambrosias, but living with you would beat living alone," Lilith said. "Even if you do drive me crazy every once in a while."

"Hey," said Ray, ignoring her last comment. "What do you think of becoming masked tag-team duellists like Scrapman and Junkgirl? I think Sunman and Moongirl has a nice ring to it."

"That is without a doubt the dumbest idea I've ever heard!" Lilith cried. "Besides, I should be called Moon_lady_ or Moon_woman_."

"It's an awesome idea! See, we can get white and black capes and..."

Julian laid back in his bed – which was really more of a workbench with a pillow on it – and stared up at the ceiling. _Well, father..._ He thought over the bickers of Ray and Lilith. _You may have wanted to keep your genius blueprints around, but we've erased your final mistake from the world. This was for the best. Perhaps now, humanity can move forward without any fear of anyone setting us back. We're finally free. Infinite paths await us._

_I wonder which path humanity will pick..._


	11. BONUS: Custom Cards from YuGiOh! SP

**Ray Ashford**

**Solanimus Blazing-Mane Lion**  
>FIRE4/Beast/Effect/1700/200  
>Other "Solanimus" monsters gain 500 ATK.<p>

**Solanimus Burning Snake**  
>FIRE4/Reptile/Effect/1800/100  
>"Solanimus" monsters inflict Piercing Damage.<p>

**Solanimus Blinding Blade**  
>LIGHT4/Warrior/Effect/1700/300  
>Once per turn: By targeting 1 FIRE monster you control and 1 monster your opponent controls; Reduce the ATK and DEF of the target opponent's monster by the ATK of the target FIRE monster until the End Phase.<p>

**Solanimus Shining Star**  
>LIGHT4/Pyro/Tuner/1500/100  
>By Discarding 1 "Solanimus" monster; Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is used as Synchro Material for a LIGHT or FIRE monster: Special Summon 1 of the "Solanimus" non-Tuner monsters used in that card's Synchro Summon from your Graveyard. Its effect(s) is negated and it is removed from play when it is removed from the field.<p>

**Solanimus Fireraptor**  
>FIRE6/Dinosaur/Effect/2200/300  
>When this card is Special Summoned by the effect of a "Solanimus" card; Destroy 1 card on the field. Then, this card gains 500 ATK.<p>

**Solanimus Magmagician**  
>FIRE4/Spellcaster/Effect/1900/200  
>When this card is Normal Summoned: You can discard 1 "Solanimus" monster; Draw 1 card.<p>

**Solanimus Vicious Hatchling**  
>FIRE2/Dragon/Tuner/800/800  
>If this card is used as Synchro Material for a Dragon-type monster: the Synchro Summoned monster gains ATK equal to the ATK of 1 non-Tuner monster used in its Synchro Summon, until the End Phase.<p>

**Solanimus Lucky Rabbit**  
>LIGHT2/Beast/Effect/1000/0  
>During your opponent's End Phase: You can Discard this card; Special Summon a number of "Solanimus" monsters from your Graveyard (except this card) up to the number of times you were dealt damage during your next Standby Phase. The effect of "Solanimus Lucky Rabbit" can only be activated once per turn.<p>

**Solanimus Raging Dragon/Assault Mode**  
>FIRE10/Dragon/Effect/3500/2500  
>Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. Must be Special Summoned by "Assault Mode Activate" and cannot be Summoned in other ways. When this card is Special Summoned: Target up to 2 cards; destroy them. When this card destroys a monster by battle: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK, or 2500 (whichever is higher). When this card on the field is destroyed: you can Special Summon 1 "Solanimus Raging Dragon" from your Graveyard.<p>

**Solanimus Guardian Phoenix**  
>LIGHT4/Winged-Beast/Effect/1000/100  
>When 2 or more cards on the field would be destroyed: You can Special Summon this card from your hand; Those cards are not destroyed. Then, if you have 2 or more "Solanimus" monsters in your Graveyard: you can target a number of monsters with less DEF than this card's ATK your opponent controls up to the number of cards that would have been destroyed; Destroy them.<p>

**Solanimus Firewing**  
>FIRE2/Winged-Beast/Tuner/1000/200  
>When a "Solanimus" monster destroys a monster by battle: You can Special Summon this card from your hand or Graveyard. This effect can only be activated once per duel. When a "Solanimus" Synchro monster is destroyed, you can Banish this card from your Graveyard and target 1 monster Synchro Summoned with this card; Special Summon that target.<p>

**Eklepia, Dragon Knight of Syzygy**  
>DIVINE10/Warrior/Fusion/Effect/3500/3500  
>1 "Solanimus Raging Dragon" Monster + 1 "Lunanima" Xyz Monster<br>Must be Fusion Summoned and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. Once per turn: By targeting 1 card; the effects of that target are negated and cannot be activated until your next Standby Phase. When this card destroys a monster by battle: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK of the destroyed card. Banish this card in your Graveyard; Special Summon 1 Banished "Solanimus" and "Lunanima" monster, ignoring the Summoning Conditions.

**Solanimus Raging Dragon**  
>FIRE8/Dragon/Synchro/Effect/3000/2000  
>1 "Solanimus" Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters<br>While this card is face-up on the field; all Defence-Position monsters are changed into face-up Attack Position. When this card destroys a monster by battle; Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK of the destroyed monster.

**Solanimus Plasma Eel**  
>LIGHT6/Sea Serpent/Synchro/Effect/2500/200  
>1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner "Solanimus" monsters<br>Once per turn: You can target 1 Defence-Position monster and 1 Spell or Trap card your opponent controls; Change the monster to Attack Position and return the Spell or Trap card to your opponent's hand.

**Solanimus Erupting Rage**  
>Spell<br>Activate only if you control 3 or more "Solanimus" monsters. Destroy all monsters your opponent controls.

**Solanimus Fireburst**  
>Spell<br>Target 1 "Solanimus" monster; Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the target monster's ATK.

**Solanimus Soul Storm**  
>Spell<br>Target 1 monster with a DEF lower than the ATK of a "Solanimus" monster you control; Destroy it, and then inflict damage to your opponent equal to the difference.

**Solanimus Battle Aura**  
>SpellEquip  
>Equip only to a Level 4 or lower monster. When this card is activated; Banish 1 "Solanimus" monster from your hand or Graveyard. The equipped monster gains ATK equal to the ATK of the banished monster.<p>

**Solanimus Dimensional Tear**  
>Spell<br>Special Summon 1 of your Banished "Solanimus" monsters.

**Dragon's Final Gift**  
>Spell<br>Remove from play 1 Dragon-type Synchro monster in your Graveyard that was properly Synchro Summoned. Draw 2 cards

**Solanimus Wild Explosion**  
>Trap<br>Activate only when your opponent Normal Summons or Sets a monster: Reveal 1 "Solanimus" monster in your hand; Destroy that monster and Special Summon the revealed monster.

**Solanimus Fire Stream**  
>Trap<br>Activate only when a "Solanimus" monster attacks or is attacked. Destroy the opponent's monster and inflict damage to your opponent equal to the "Solanimus" monster's ATK.

**Lilith Huron**

**Sacred Sprite of Lunanima**  
>WATER4/Fairy/Effect/600/1700  
>When this card is destroyed by your opponent's card (by battle or card effect): Special Summon 2 "Sacred Sprite of Lunanima" from your deck. The Special Summoned monsters cannot be used for a Xyz Summon, except for a "Lunanima" monster.<p>

**Stargazer of Lunanima**  
>DARK4/Fairy/Effect/800/1800  
>Discard this card: Add 1 "Lunar Impact" from your deck to your hand.<p>

**Wilting Lotus of Lunanima**  
>DARK1/Plant/Effect/0/0  
>Once per Duel: By removing 1 "Lunanima" monster in your Graveyard from play; Special Summon this card from your Graveyard. Your opponent cannot attack other monsters you control.<p>

**Seadancer of Lunanima**  
>WATER3/Spellcaster/Effect/100/1800  
>Once per turn: By targeting 1 "Lunanima" monster in your Graveyard and 1 Xyz Monster you control; Attach the target "Lunanima" monster to the target Xyz Monster.<p>

**Sorceress of Lunanima**  
>WATER3/Spellcaster/Effect/200/1900  
>Once per turn: If you control a "Lunanima" monster other than "Sorceress of Lunanima"; You can return 1 monster your opponent controls to their hand.<p>

**Snowflake Ghost of Lunanima**  
>WATER3/Zombie/Effect/0/1900  
>When a monster is attacked: By discarding this card and targetting 1 "Lunanima" monster in your Graveyard (except "Snowflake Ghost of Lunanima"; Negate the attack and Special Summon that target.<p>

**Mist Shaman of Lunanima**  
>WATER3/Fairy/Effect/1200/1200  
>You can Special Summon this card during your opponent's Battle Phase in face-up Attack Position. During the turn this card was Special Summoned in this way, other monsters you control cannot be attacked, and this card cannot be destroyed by battle. During your Main Phase: Unless this card was Special Summoned by this effect; You can return this face-up card to your hand.<p>

**Voodoo Princess of Lunanima**  
>DARK4/Spellcaster/Effect/1000/1400  
>When this card is Normal Summoned; Special Summon 1 Level 4 "Lunanima" monster from your Graveyard. While the Special Summoned monster is face-up, your opponent cannot attack this card.<p>

**Potion-Brewer of Lunanima**  
>WATER4/Spellcaster/Effect/1000/1800  
>FLIP: Add 1 "Lunanima" monster from your deck to your hand.<p>

**Illusionist of Lunanima**  
>WATER3/Spellcaster/Effect/1000/1000  
>When a Field Spell card would be destroyed: You can Discard this card from your hand instead.<p>

**Magic Sealer of Lunanima**  
>WATER4/Spellcaster/Effect/1200/2000  
>If you control a Lunanima monster: You can Discard this card; monsters you control cannot be targeted by card effects this turn. This effect can be activated during either player's turn.<p>

**Ice Priestess of Lunanima**  
>DARKR4/Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect/1500/2500  
>2 Level 4 WATER or DARK monsters<br>Once per turn: By targeting 1 monster and detaching 1 Xyz Material from this card; That target cannot attack, has its effect negated and cannot be Tributed or used as Synchro or Xyz Material as long as it remains face-up on the field.

**Gravity Queen of Lunanima**  
>DARKR4/Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect/1000/3000  
>3 Level 4 "Lunanima" monsters<br>Once per turn: By Detaching 1 Xyz Material from this card; Place 1 "Moon Counter" on a face-up "Lunar Impact".

**Chessmistress of Lunanima**  
>DARKR3/Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect/1500/3000  
>2 Level 3 "Lunanima" monsters<br>Once per turn: By Detaching 1 Xyz Material; Set 1 Normal Trap card from your Graveyard.

**Hecate, Witch Goddess of Lunanima**  
>DARKR4/Spellcaster/Xyz/Effect/2500/3500  
>2 Rank 4 "Lunanima" monsters<br>During either player's turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; Activate 1 "Moonlight Veil" from your hand, deck or Graveyard. Once per turn: You can target 1 card you control; Place 1 "Moon Counter" on it.

**Lunar Impact**  
>SpellField  
>When this card has 7 "Moon Counters" on it, you win the Duel.<p>

**Crystal Mirror of Lunanima**  
>Spell<br>Target 1 "Lunanima" monster; Special Summon 1 monster from your deck with the same name.

**Spiritual Portal of Lunanima**  
>Spell<br>Target 1 of your banished "Lunanima" monsters; Special Summon it.

**Ice Mirror of Lunanima**  
>Spell<br>Target 1 "Lunanima" monster in your Graveyard; Add 1 monster from your deck to your hand with the same name as the target card.

**Moonlight Veil**  
>Trap<br>If you control a "Lunanima" monster: Until the End Phase, monsters cannot be destroyed and you take no Battle Damage from battles involving them.

**Half Moon**  
>Trap<br>Halve all Damage you take this turn. During your Standby Phase: You can Banish 1 "Lunanima" monster in your Graveyard; Add this card from your Graveyard to your hand.

**Julian Nobel**

**Duality - Cogito**  
>DARK6/Aqua/Effect/2100/2600  
>Once per turn, you can change this card's Attribute to LIGHT or DARK. This card gains the following effect corresponding with its Attribute:<br>*LIGHT: Once per turn, if you control another "Duality" monster, take control of target monster your opponent controls until the End Phase.  
>*DARK: Your opponent's monsters cannot activate their effects.<p>

**Duality - Calco**  
>LIGHT6/Beast/Effect/2400/2000  
>Once per turn, you can change this card's Attribute to LIGHT or DARK. This card gains the following effect corresponding with its Attribute:<br>*LIGHT: Other "Duality" monsters gain 600 ATK/DEF.  
>*DARK: Your opponent cannot activate card effects during the Battle Phase.<p>

**Duality - Pungo**  
>LIGHT4/Reptile/Effect/1800/1200  
>Once per turn, you can change this card's Attribute to LIGHT or DARK. This card gains the following effect corresponding with its Attribute:<br>*LIGHT: "Duality" monsters inflict Piercing Damage.  
>*DARK: Any monster that battles this card is returned to its owners' deck after Damage Calculation.<p>

**Duality - Servo**  
>DARK3/Reptile/Effect/500/2100  
>Once per turn, you can change this card's Attribute to LIGHT or DARK. This card gains the following effect corresponding with its Attribute:<br>*LIGHT: Switch the ATK/DEF of all monsters your opponent controls.  
>*DARK: Your opponent cannot attack other "Duality" monsters.<p>

**Duality - Celo**  
>DARK4/Insect/Effect/1000/1700  
>Once per turn, you can change this card's Attribute to LIGHT or DARK. This card gains the following effect corresponding with its Attribute:<br>*LIGHT: When a "Duality" monster attacks a face-down monster, destroy the face-down monster before damage calculation.  
>*DARK: When this card battles, you can return it to your hand to Special Summon 1 "Duality" monster from your hand and have it battle instead.<p>

**Duality - Subsulto**  
>LIGHT3/Aqua/Effect/1600/200  
>Once per turn, you can change this card's Attribute to LIGHT or DARK. This card gains the following effect corresponding with its Attribute:<br>*LIGHT: When this card is destroyed by battle, Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Duality" monster from your deck.  
>*DARK: When this card is destroyed, except by battle, Special Summon 1 non-Fusion "Duality" monster from your hand or Graveyard, except "Duality - Subsulto".<p>

**Duality - Ordinatus Rex**  
>LIGHT8/Divine-Beast/Effect/3000/2000  
>This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Tributing 1 LIGHT and DARK "Duality" monster(s). All "Duality" monsters are treated as both LIGHT and DARK. Once per turn, you can select 1 card your opponent controls and 1 "Duality" monster you control. Send both cards to the Graveyard. Then, Special Summon 1 Fusion monster from your Extra Deck whose Fusion-Material monsters include both the sent monster and "Evolution Gene". (This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon).<p>

**Duality - Pungo Exertus**  
>LIGHT6/Dinosaur/Fusion/Effect/2400/2100  
>"Duality - Pungo" + "Evolution Gene"<br>This card's Attribute is also treated as DARK. When a "Duality" monster destroys a monster by battle, your opponent takes damage equal to the ATK of that "Duality" monster. A monster that battles a "Duality" monster you control is removed from play after Damage Calculation.

**Duality - Servo Lente**  
>DARK5/Reptile/Fusion/Effect/1600/2800  
>"Duality - Servo" + "Evolution Gene"<br>This card's Attribute is also treated as LIGHT. The ATK/DEF of each other monster becomes equal to whichever is lower for your opponent's monsters and whichever is higher for your monsters. Twice per turn, when a card effect or battle would destroy a "Duality" monster(s), you can negate the battle and destroy the opponent's monster or activation of that card and destroy it.

**Duality - Cogito Sapiens**  
>DARK8/Aqua/Fusion/Effect/2600/3600  
>"Duality - Cogito" + "Evolution Gene"<br>This card's Attribute is also treated as LIGHT. Negate the effects of your opponent's monsters. Once per turn, you can take control of 1 monster your opponent controls. During the End Phase, Tribute 1 "Duality" monster or return control of that monster to your opponent.

**Duality - Calco Ingens**  
>LIGHT8/Beast/Fusion/Effect/3000/2700  
>"Duality - Cogito" + "Evolution Gene"<br>This card's Attribute is also treated as DARK. Other "Duality" monsters gain 1000 ATK. Your opponent cannot activate card effects during the Battle Phase.

**Duality - Subsulto Cito**  
>LIGHT5/Aqua/Fusion/Effect/2300/400  
>"Duality - Subsulto" + "Evolution Gene"<br>This card's Attribute is also treated as DARK. Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 non-Fusion "Duality" monster from your hand or Graveyard. When this card is removed from the field, Special Summon 1 "Duality" monster from your deck.

**Duality - Celo Mactabilis**  
>DARK6/Insect/Fusion/Effect/2100/2500  
>"Duality - Celo" + "Evolution Gene"<br>This card's Attribute is also treated as LIGHT. Once per turn, you can destroy target face-down card to Special Summon 1 "Duality" monster from your hand.

**Duality Dual Beam**  
>SpellQuickplay  
>Select 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK "Duality" monster you control. Those monsters cannot attack this turn. Select and destroy up to 3 cards on the field (at least 1 must be a Monster and at least 1 must be a SpellTrap).

**Third Eye of Enlightenment**  
>SpellContinuous  
>Once per turn, during your End Phase, you can send 1 "Duality" monster you control to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 Fusion monster from your Extra Deck whose Fusion-Material monsters include both the sent monster and "Evolution Gene". (This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon).<p>

**Duality Cycle**  
>Spell<br>Reveal 1 "Duality" monster in your hand. Special Summon 1 "Duality" monster in your Graveyard with a different Attribute.

**Ascension After Death**  
>SpellEquip  
>When this card is sent to the Graveyard when the equipped monster is destroyed by battle: Special Summon 1 Fusion monster from your Extra Deck whose Fusion-Material monsters include both the sent monster and "Evolution Gene". (This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon).<p>

**Sage's Meditation**  
>Spell<br>Target 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK "Duality" monster in your Graveyard with the same Level. Add those monsters to your hand.

**Shattered Duality**  
>Trap<br>Activate only when a "Duality" monster(s) is destroyed. Select 1 of those monsters. If it was a Fusion monster, Special Summon 2 "Duality" monsters from your deck with the same Level and different Attributes. Otherwise, Special Summon 1 "Duality" monster from your deck with the same Level as the destroyed monster but a different name.

**Evolutionary Pressure**  
>Trap<br>Activate only when a monster you control is declared as an attack target. Send that monster to the Graveyard and Special Summon 1 Fusion monster from your Extra Deck whose Fusion-Material monsters include both the sent monster and "Evolution Gene". The Special Summoned monster becomes the new target of the attack.

**Demetria Ambrosia**

**Winged Amazon – Mistress of Earth and Sky**  
>EARTH8/Winged-Beast/Fusion/2800/2000  
>"Harpie Lady" + 1 "Amazoness" monster<br>This card is also treated as a WIND and Warrior-type monster. Once per turn: by Banishing 1 "Harpie" or "Amazoness" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon 1 "Amazoness" or "Harpie" monster (opposite of the Banished monster) from your Graveyard. Then, the Special Summoned monster gains the effect(s) of the Banished monster.

**Mistress' Tiragon**  
>WIND6/Beast/Fusion/2400/3000  
>"Amazoness Tiger" + "Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon" or "Harpie's Pet Dragon"<br>If you control "Winged Amazon - Mistress of the Earth and Sky": You can Tribute 1 of this card's Fusion-Material monsters; Special Summon this card from your Extra Deck. While this card is face-up: "Amazoness" and "Harpie" monsters gain 1000 ATK and "Winged Amazon - Mistress of the Earth and Sky" gains 1200 ATK/DEF and cannot be targeted by card effects.

**Nephele Ambrosia**

**Winged Amazon – Mistress of Earth and Sky**  
>EARTH8/Winged-Beast/Fusion/2800/2000  
>"Harpie Lady" + 1 "Amazoness" monster<br>This card is also treated as a WIND and Warrior-type monster. Once per turn: by Banishing 1 "Harpie" or "Amazoness" monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon 1 "Amazoness" or "Harpie" monster (opposite of the Banished monster) from your Graveyard. Then, the Special Summoned monster gains the effect(s) of the Banished monster.

**Feather Dance**  
>Spell<br>Send, from your hand or side of the field to the Graveyard, any number of "Harpie Girls"; Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Harpie" monster from your deck for each one. If you sent 3 "Harpie Girls", you can Special Summon any 3 "Harpie" monsters instead, ignoring the Summoning Conditions.

**Winds of Change**  
>Spell<br>Return up to 2 WIND monsters you control to your hand. Draw 1 card for each one.

**Chains of Taming**  
>SpellEquip  
>Take control of the equipped monster. Your opponent cannot attack monsters other than the equipped monster. If you do not control a "Harpie Lady", "Harpie Girl", "Harpie Lady Sisters" or "Amazoness" monster other than "Amazoness Tiger", destroy this card. If you control "Winged Amazon - Mistress of Earth and Sky", this card cannot be destroyed by card effects.<p>

**Evasive Flight**  
>Trap<br>Activate only by returning 1 WIND monster you control to the owner's hand. Your opponent cannot attack this turn. During the End Phase, Special Summon a monster with the same name as the returned monster from your hand.

**Leo Szilard**

**TGSX-Minus**  
>Spell<br>Return to your Extra Deck 1 "T.G." Synchro monster you control; Special Summon 1 Synchro monster with a lower Level from your Extra Deck. (This Special Summon is treated as a Synchro Summon).

**George Chapman**

**Chaos End** **Dragon - Envoy of Eternity**  
>DARK8/Dragon/Synchro/Effect/3000/2500  
>"Chaos-End Master" + 1 DARK non-Tuner monster<br>When this card is Synchro Summoned; Destroy all other cards on the field. Then, inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each card destroyed.

**Albert Gewald**

**Dendritic My'Loid**  
>LIGHT1/Plant/Tuner/0/0  
>This card's Level is treated as 0.<p>

**Dendritic Hemato'Poid**  
>LIGHT1/Plant/Tuner/0/0  
>When a Level 1 monster is declared as an attack target: Discard this card and target 1 other Level 1 monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target and end the Battle Phase.<p>

**Eldricyte - Lymphos the Summoner**  
>LIGHT1/Thunder/Synchro/Effect/2500/500  
>1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters<br>Once per turn: By targeting 1 Level 1 Tuner monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that monster. It is removed from play when it leaves the field.

**Eldricyte - Basos the Flayer**  
>LIGHT1/Fiend/Synchro/Effect/500/2500  
>1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters<br>Your opponent's monsters lose 500 ATK/DEF during each End Phase.

**Eldricyte - Neutros the Twister**  
>LIGHT1/Aqua/Synchro/Effect/1500/1500  
>1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters<br>When an "Eldricyte" monster is destroyed: You can Tribute 1 Level 1 monster; Special Summon this card from your Extra Deck. (This is treated as a Synchro Summon). Then, target 1 Level 1 Synchro monster you control; Inflict damage to your opponent equal to that target's ATK.

**Eldricyte - Monos the Swallower**  
>LIGHT1/Beast/Synchro/Effect/1000/2000  
>1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters<br>When an "Eldricyte" you control destroys a monster by battle: This card gains ATK equal to the ATK of the destroyed monster.

**Eldricyte - Eosinos the Burner**  
>LIGHT1/Pyro/Synchro/Effect/2000/1000  
>1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters<br>When this card declares an attack: Card effects cannot be activated until the end of the Damage Step. Discard 1 "Dendritic" monster; Other "Eldricyte" monsters gain this effect this turn.

**Eldricyte - Macros the Devourer**  
>LIGHTR1/Rock/Xyz/Effect/0/0  
>5 Level 1 Synchro monsters<br>Once per turn, during either player's turn: By detaching 1 Xyz Material from this card; target 1 monster your opponent controls. Send it to the Graveyard, then, if it was a monster, this card gains ATK equal to its ATK.

**Eldricyte - Hemocytoblast the Usher**  
>LIGHT10/Psychic/Effect/3500/3500  
>Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) when you have 6 other "Eldricyte" monsters in your Graveyard and cannot be Summoned in other card gains the effect(s) of all "Eldricyte" monsters in your Graveyard. Instead of paying the costs for this card's effect(s), you can pay 1000 Life Points. During your Standby Phase: Banish this card in your Graveyard; Special Summon as many "Eldricyte" monsters as possible from your Graveyard.<p> 


End file.
